The saying, "It takes a village to raise a child" is no less important
today than it was in the ancient African proverb. Home and School working
together is an integral part of student success. After several years
of teaching, I figured out that it worked great if I typed up my lesson
plans on Thursday night and sent a copy home with all the students
on Friday. This gave the parents time to peruse the next week's topics
and assist their child in preparation. I also gave a copy to the special
education support staff so they could anticipate upcoming struggles.
It was a wonderful situation because parents would send in materials
that coincided with lessons I was teaching. I highly recommend it to
all the educators reading this page.
I once worked on a national task force and we did focus groups with
educators and parents on separate nights. The educators would tell
us that the parents didn't want to be involved and never came up to
the school. The next night we would meet with the parents and the parents
would tell us, "The school doesn't want us up here. You can tell they
don't want parents coming around." For those of us on the task force
it was so obvious that both sides wanted the same thing- they just
didn't know how to go about getting it done.
Schools should make up a newsletter telling exactly how parents can
get involved at the school. There should be space dedicated to parents
with badges and reminders about school expectations. Parents should
be included as much as possible; afterall, parents are the true experts
on their child. When I ran a clinic for children with extreme behaviors,
I would not serve the school unless they agreed to the parents being
at the table for all discussions.
Here are two booklets on IEP development: one for parents and one
for educators
Parent IEP
Educator IEP
How can Parents get inolved in PBIS if your child's school is incorporating
PBIS?
PowerPoint on Parent PBIS
Have trouble getting your kids to bed on time?
PowerPoint on Bedtime Routine
100 Free Rewards Parents Can Give Their Children
Potty Training
Avoiding the Back to School Shopping Hassle
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