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Parents, Family & Community

By: Kristine Welper, Sammy Schell, Tami Jahnke & Caitlin Hacker

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“It takes a whole village

to raise a child”

+Three General Types of Parents Parents who love you

Tutoring Supplies Volunteering Chaperoning

Parents who you will never see See signatures once and

awhile No relationship with them Will have to beg for a

conference

Parents of children who do no wrong Defend children to the end Undermine your authority by

your age, experience or stories child has told

Love to get last word-may be unkind

Don’t take personally

+Importance of Involving Parents

Parent teacher interaction is the contributing factor to a child's success in school

Child, teacher, parents will all have shared understanding of goals

Parents and teachers usually have the same end goal in mind. This helps parents become better parents and teachers more successful

Let parents know how their child is-helps parents be more responsive to those areas their child needs work

Involving parents increases the likelihood that they will remain engaged in children’s education

Assist parents to create healthy homes that support their child’s physical, emotional and cognitive development.

+Involving Parents continued Enhances children’s

cognitive development Improve behavior Boost academic

achievement Increase language and

problem-solving skills Decreases changes that

children will be referred into special education classes

Parents can increase their knowledge of child development

Be informed about appropriate approaches to guidance

Trusting relationship built between parent and teacher-parents will be confident dropping child off at school

+Ways to Involve Parents If parents feel invitation for

involvement is sincere they will be more involved

Be available to all families Show interest, respect and caring

for each child Short notes home Journals between parents and

teachers Bulletin boards Telephone conversations Web sites Newsletters

Open houses

Regular scheduled individual conferences

Home visits-Know students family background

+More Ways to Involve Parents and Families Parent education

How to parent How to help with learning at home

School-to-home communication Notices Bulletin Boards Report cards Signs posted

Volunteer opportunities Be specific on ways families can

volunteer School decision making

Ask parents for advice about school decisions that will affect their children

School-wide events Parent night Open house

+Tips for Working with Parents

Always begin conversations with positive comments

Don’t insult parenting Use several forms of

communication Balance Constant contact Document all parent contacts Be a professional when

talking with parents

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FamiliesFamily-Centered Programs: Programs that focus on meeting the needs of students and their families.

Family-Centered Teaching: Instruction that focuses on the needs of students through the family unit, whatever that unit may be, and is designed to help both generations while strengthening the family unit.

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+Families

Parent/family education Literacy programs Counseling programs Referrals to community

agencies Assistance with problems

of daily living Programs designed for

specific purposes (i.e. how to help with homework)

Increase knowledge, skills, and understanding of education process

Help families and children address and solve problems

Increase student achievement Promote school retention and

prevent dropout Provide greater range of

resources and more experts that schools alone can provide

Relieve families and children/youth of stress to make learning more possible

Teachers, Pre-K-12 Outcomes/Benefits

+Importance of Involving Community Stakeholders Provide resources for

educators Provide services for low-

income families Discussion Questions: How

was your community involved in your school and vice versa? How would you get your community involved in your classroom and vice versa?

+How to: Involve Community

Advisory boards or board of director positions

Fund-raising Professionals Day Voluntary Community

Service Display student work in

community Develop school-community

partnerships

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikZ7Lu8Dh9U&feature=PlayList&p=CA5F13F7C66E013A&index=4

4:00 min.

Setbacks &

Barriers

+Barriers & Setbacks

Language

Cultural values, morals, traditions

Don’t understand school system

Different opinions of education

Time and financial constraints

Feel uncomfortable

Confused about options, lack of information

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Mock Home Visits

+Resources Decker, C. A., Decker, J. R., Freeman, N., & Knopf, H. (2008). Planning and

Administering Early Childhood Programs (9th Edition) (9 ed.). Alexandria, VA: Prentice Hall.

Jaruis, S., Algozzine, B. (2006). Everything I need to know about Teaching…They forgot to tell me.

Morrison, G.S. (2009). Teaching America. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.

Saracho, O.N. (2007). Hispanic families as facilitators of their children’s literacy development. Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, [Vol. 6, Num. 2] 103-117.

Trumbull, E. & Pacheco, M. (2005). The teachers’ guide diversity: Building a knowledge base.

Wherry, J.H. (2010). The barriers to parental involvement- and what can be done: A research analysis. The Parent Institute. Retrieved from http://www.parent-institute.com/articles/obstacles.php