6 Texas school Business . Bragging Rights . 2011-2012

In the 1976 movie, “Freaky Friday,” a mother and daughter magically switch bodies and experience for 24 hours what it’s like to live in one another’s shoes. By the day’s end, the mother and daughter have a greater appreciation and understanding of one another.

Alvarado, a community of about 4,300 south of Fort Worth, is far from the glitz and glamour of Hollywood, but that hasn’t prevented this district’s high school from staging its own version of Freaky Friday every year since 2005. The concerted effort among school administrators, students and the community gives parents a taste of what their kids experience at school and provides an opportunity to strengthen district-community relations.

The seed for Freaky Friday was planted after a survey of Alvarado High School (AHS) faculty and staff indicated that greater parental involvement would boost student achievement, says Assistant Superintendent Kenneth Estes.

To explore ways to improve parental involvement, the AHS Leadership Team attended Tarleton State University’s Effective Schools Project (ESP) Planning Retreat in Kerrville in the spring of 2005. The Alvarado group consisted of six teacher leaders who represented a cross-section of AHS faculty and staff.

It was the school’s athletic director at the time, Kurt McGrath, who came up with the Freaky Friday concept.

Says Estes: “Parents sometimes think that they’re not welcome in school, and we wanted to fix that. Kurt asked, ‘Well, have we ever actually invited them to come to school? I mean, we ask them to volunteer and to serve on committees, but have we actually invited them to come to the schools?’”

The athletic director cited the movie, “Freaky Friday,” as an example of how parents might experience their children’s lives firsthand. Thus,

by Jeff Carmack

superintendent Chester Juroska

Freaky Friday at AHS was born. It was decided that the school’s Parental Involvement Team — a group of teachers who work to increase parental involvement and improve communication between the school and parents — would develop the plans for what would become an annual event.

Estes says the original idea was to host Freaky Friday in the spring, but the school decided that it might be fun to tie the event to homecoming events in the fall.

“And since homecoming falls close to the end of a reporting period, it gives parents a good chance to address the teachers with any concerns they may have,” Estes says.

Getting the word out

The Parental Involvement Team had less than two weeks to plan the first Freaky Friday and to get the word out to the parents of 980 students. A letter describing the concept invited parents to attend school for a half day and encouraged them to wear throw-back attire from their high school days. Announcements were made throughout the week and at the football game the Friday prior to the event.

AHS event planners also had concerns that only experience would address. They worried whether parents would be able to take time away from their jobs to participate in Freaky Friday. Also, some teachers expressed anxiety over where parents would sit in already full classrooms, what sort of lessons they should plan for their guest students and what would happen if a parent became confrontational with a teacher.

These fears proved to be unfounded, Estes says, but AHS leaders addressed them all by adding some additional structure to the day. They sought out extra seating and developed a set of guidelines for Freaky Friday participation so that everyone would be on the same page, literally. The guidelines requested that parents

it’s magical: ‘Freaky Friday’ strengthens relations between school and parents

Alvarado ISD

Texas school Business . Bragging Rights . 2011-2012 7

ask student-related questions only during private parent-teacher meetings during the day. The guidelines also stated that parents would be held to the same standard as students regarding dress code, tardiness and behavior.

How it works

Now with several years of successful Freaky Fridays under its belt, the high school follows a well-formulated agenda. The day kicks off with a modest continental breakfast for the visitors. When the bell rings, it’s time for everyone — kids and parents — to scoot to class.

The day is structured so that each class meets for 25 minutes, with a five-minute break between periods. This structure gives parents 10 minutes or so to speak with teachers, with the rest of the period devoted to parent participation in classroom discussions, work and elective activities. Electives include art, band, choir, physical education, vocational classes, agriculture, JROTC and athletics.

To add to the fun, drawings for door prizes are held during each passing period. Prizes include gift certificates for groceries and to restaurants and tickets to home sporting events. Students also are exempt from their homeroom classes for three days, allowing them to arrive at school 25 minutes late those days — an added incentive for students to prod their parents into attending.

Freaky Fridays end with a pep rally at noon and lunch at 12:30 p.m. During the final two hours of the day, teachers are available again to meet individually with students and parents as

needed. At the end of the day, parents are asked to complete a short survey about their Freaky Friday experience.

Create it, and they will come

At the first Freaky Friday, AHS leaders were uncertain how the day would go over with parents. Attendance at AHS parent-teacher conferences had been historically low, Estes says, so event organizers were hesitant to believe in the “magic” of Freaky Friday. The team hoped that perhaps 30 parents would attend.

To their shock and delight, 145 parents — representing 161 students — attended the inaugural event. Estes says those parents represented, both ethnically and socio-economically, a healthy cross-section of the student body.

“We thought that was incredible — to have that many parents come and go to class with their kids. Now we’re getting close to 600 parents each year,” he says. “Our student population is 980, so roughly three-quarters of our kids are represented. For secondary school, that’s unheard of.”

Parent comments and survey results from that first Freaky Friday indicated that parents felt welcome, that the event was beneficial, and that AHS should host another Freaky Friday soon. Said one parent: “I really found it refreshing and interesting. AHS has some great teachers and students. Any child should be privileged to attend a great school.”

Alvarado ISD high school student Tera Sloan and her mom, Teresa Sloan, conduct a lab experiment in chemistry class during Freaky Friday 2010.

See ALVARADO on page 9

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Texas school Business . Bragging Rights . 2011-2012 9

“Some parents think, ‘Well, not much has changed since I was in school,’ and by going to Freaky Friday, they see what the kids go through, and they see the challenges they face. They get a better idea of how to support their kids,” says Estes.

Several parents echoed this, saying that, thanks to Freaky Friday, they had a better appreciation of the rigor of high school academics. Some also reported a better understanding of the importance of parental support.

According to the initial survey, 22 percent of the 81 parents who filled out a survey were first-time visitors to the school.

“The only even slightly negative feedback we’ve gotten over the years is, ‘Why don’t you do this more often?’” Estes says.

AHS has been able to connect the dots between Freaky Friday’s runaway success and better student performance. Between 2005 and 2010, AHS reduced the total number of failing grades from 5,023 to 2,822 of all classes taken. In 2010, AHS earned a “Recognized” rating from the Texas Education Agency and — for the first time — met Adequate Yearly Progress standards and accountability provisions in No Child Left Behind legislation. AHS also enjoys greater parental involvement in campus activities and better

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engagement among staff, students and parents.

Estes says everyone who participates in Freaky Friday is enthusiastic about the program.

“It’s really a neat thing to see — how many of the parents get into it as much as the kids,” Estes says. “Because it’s close to homecoming, we ask everyone to ‘purple out’ and wear the school colors. Some wear old jerseys from when they went to school here.”

Teresa Chatham has two kids, ages 14 and 16, who attend AHS. A third child graduated in 2009. She’s been to the annual event four times.

“It’s tons of fun and a really good communication tool for the teachers, parents and students,” she says. “It helps parents link in to what’s going on in school. You get to meet with each teacher for 10 or 15 minutes, and that’s perfect for parents to get a brief refresher on what the kids are doing and where they’re going.”

The only real downside to Freaky Friday has been finding additional visitor parking.

“By the second and third years, we had to have people park off site,” Estes says, adding that the school now provides a shuttle service.

JEFF CARMACK is a freelance writer in Austin. He writes a humor blog at http://jeffcarmack.wordpress.com.

ALVARADO continued from page 7