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

“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. One shared goal-to give all children opportunities to pursue their dreams and to achieve success—this relationship impacts children's affective functioning, leading to positive self-image, a productive orientation to social relations and to positive attitudes about a school

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 Short notes home-about class trips, homework, children special accomplishments Open houses-describe child's daily schedule, arrange materials as children would use them, know how children spend their days Conferences-help families understand how their child is developing and what he/she is learning, talk about specific goals Home visits-extremely valuable way to learn more about children: teachers are seen as they care enough bout child to visit their home, family members likely more comfortable in their own home,

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 Positive-no matter how difficult the child is-should be able to find one good thing to saw, once you made positive comment-lead to real reason for disscussion insult-assume parents are doing their best-offer suggestions by saying, “I had another student who was having this same problem, and his mother found that by____ he became more successful” Several forms-calls, letters etc. find one that works best for you and stick with it Balance-try to make at least as many positive as negative comments with parents Constant contact-send letter home every two weeks, have children get notes signed, Document-if a problem becomes critical and an administer asks if you contacted parents, you can show you did Be professional- no negative talk about school, students, teachers, no gossiping or using profanity

Families Family-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.

Families Teachers, Pre-K-12 Outcomes/Benefits 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

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

Setbacks & Barriers http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikZ7Lu8Dh9U&feature=PlayList&p=CA5F13F7C66E013A&index=4 4:00 min.

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

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