When it comes to a child’s education, parent involvement is just as crucial as the teacher’s involvement in a student’s school life. As educators we gather materials, create lesson plans, assign interactive activities and plenty more in order to ensure students are receiving the most of their education. Unfortunately, some parents fail to realize that the learning simply does not stop at school. When you are involved in your child’s education it can encourage the child to succeed in their academics and it will help you stay informed on what your child is learning in class.
How Do You Stimulate Parent Involvement?
Parent involvement can be influenced by both the parent and the educator. Many Parents have shown interest in helping and volunteering at schools but are often discouraged due to the school or educator. There are instances where parents are not told where the most help is needed. For example, in a parent survey 70 percent “contribute by donating items to the classroom” and 58 percent “helping with class parties and field trips” (Bantuveris, 2013). While these are in fact wonderful ways to help the school, the survey also revealed that teachers wanted parents’ help when it came to “listening to students read, tutoring and helping with homework” (Bantuveris, 2013). The best way to help encourage parents to be involved in their child’s education is to communicate with parents. Teachers should be reaching out to parents and making it clear in what ways they want parents to be involved. In addition to this, teachers should express how the parents’ support will benefit the students and most importantly thank them every time they contribute, to show appreciation.
For first time teachers, it can be quite difficult to communicate with parents. It can be quite difficult to find the right approach and sometimes even words to better connect with parents. A tip to better work with parents is to involve them in everything that their child achieves and learns in class. In the article “8 Tips for Reaching Out to Parents” David Cutler mentions how he had a positive conversation about his curriculum and assignment with a parent and that it led to a conversion about how impressed he was with the child. Parents are often curious about what the teacher is doing in the classroom to support their child’s learning. Such conversations can push the parents to get involved especially after they see how much the educator cares for their child’s well-being. Another interesting tip from the article was the importance of looking professional. In middle school, my math teacher would come to class every day with a new suit and tie. He was indeed known for being the best dressed teacher in my grade, but I did not know at the time how important it was to present yourself in such a professional manner. Dressing professionally definitely sends this message of being respected and serious about your job. When I begin teaching, I will definitely take this into consideration.
Another way to help parent engagement is with the use of online resources. Online apps such as REMIND are excellent ways to enhance parent involvement because it helps parents and teachers connect quickly by just texting. The app REMIND “ensures that parents are getting the information they need in a timely manner” (Provenzano, 2016). Rather than sending an email, which many do not check consistently, educators can set up some form of online communication so they can contact parents and vice versa. Some schools like in the video “Parent Involvement in schools Part 2” go as far as to conduct home visits to ensure parents’ involvement. A family-oriented school “YES Prep North Central” established a contract with the parents during these home visits that consists of working together to better educate the child and prepare them for college.
Board of Education Meeting
Just as I previously discussed, it is indeed important and beneficial for parents to be involved in their child’s education. I recently attended a board of education meeting in my district and this topic was an ongoing discussion. The members of the board were promoting upcoming school events and were asking parents to donate snacks, drinks, and if possible, to help serve refreshments. They also discussed the importance of parents coming together to deal with school concerns. A big school concern was the issue of vaping. Many students at just age 13 were caught vaping or picking up vapes from the floor and using it. They even developed these secret codes so they can use vapes without the adults knowing. The members advised that parents go online and familiarize themself with such codes and that they check in on their kids. On top of vapes being found on school grounds there are vape shops down the block at some schools. Young children walk past these vape shops every day and are seen purchasing from them. It was brought to the parents’ attention that these vape shops would be closed in the morning and purposely open around the time students dismiss from school. They stressed that the best solution is for parents and staff members to come together and protest outside these vape shops during dismissal with some form of message written on their shirt.
Part Two: My Plan for better Communicating with Parents:
Given the information from the articles above, I will definitely incorporate some of their tips to help me better communicate with my students’ families. When I start teaching, I will be teaching second grade. At this grade level, the students will be focused on strengthening their vocabulary, reading, and overall writing skills. I plan to use online resources a lot within my class. I will use apps like REMIND to communicate with parents about class assignments and the class curriculum. I will also use these apps to keep parents informed on how their child is doing and on any other achievement made by their child. I also plan to use Zoom to conduct online meetings for parents who cannot attend in-person meetings. One of the tips mentioned above that I find very helpful is practicing better communication skills. I plan to tell parents where their help is needed. I will promote school events and let parents know how they can provide their services.
References
Bantuveris, K. (2013, September 16). 5 tips for engaging parent volunteers in the classroom. Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/blog/strategies-for-engaging-parent-volunteers-karen-bantuveris
Borovoy, A.E. (2012, November 2). 5-Minute Film Festival: Parent-Teacher Partnerships. Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/blog/film-festival-parent-teacher-partnerships
Cutler, D. (2015, August 20). 8 tips for reaching out to parents. Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/blog/tips-reaching-out-to-parents-david-cutler
Parent-teacher conference memes. Year of the Dad. (2023, May 12). https://yearofthedad.com/parent-teacher-conference-memes/
Provenzano, N. (2016, August 30). Tech-Enhanced Parent engagement. Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/blog/tech-enhanced-parent-engagement-nicholas-provenzano