We Need Parents Rockbrook Elementary

2009-2010 Counseling Accountability Project Parental Involvement 2009-2010 Counseling Accountability Project Goal: Increase parent involvement Method: Create a room for parents and volunteers to work, meet and receive information in Large work space with all necessary materials Educational/family oriented materials Career and college information Child friendly Counselor Role: Organize space to make it staff and parent friendly Make families aware of the resources in the room by planning parent activities in the Parent Room . Make it accessible to all teachers and school staff by giving them space in the room , as well as making it available for staff social gatherings. Design an area for teachers to leave work for class volunteers.

Organize space to make it staff and parent friendly Parental Involvement Counselor Role: Organize space to make it staff and parent friendly Educational and counseling materials and pamphlets are placed in the room. College and career information is posted and available. A television and VCR were donated to make it possible for parents and teachers to view educational and parenting videos. Multiple sitting areas were designed to allow the Parent Room to serve many purposes (eg. couch, chairs with small table in between, two tables with work supplies, and a child friendly sitting and play area). Computer and Internet access are also available to volunteers, a printer is present as well. The room has a microwave and sink. A restroom is located in the room to make it more parent and child friendly.

Parental Involvement Counselor Role: Plan activities for the Parent Room Coffee with the Counselor (Parent Education) Discipline Attachment Early Childhood Intervention (ECI) 2 visits Parent/PTA Activities Santa Shop Food Pantry food drive Donuts for Dads Classroom volunteer work space

Plan parent activities for the Parent Room Parental Involvement Counselor Role: Plan parent activities for the Parent Room Make parents who may not frequently visit Rockbrook aware of the Parent Room by hosting nontraditional activities in the room: Angel Tree Food Pantry Clothes Closet Early Childhood Intervention Kindergarten Round-Up

Make room accessible to all teachers and staff Parental Involvement Counselor Role: Make room accessible to all teachers and staff Educational material and pamphlets available to share with parents Individual teacher files to store work for classroom volunteers Bulletin board to post news and volunteer positions The principal requested that all classroom volunteers use the Parent Room to complete their work. Room availability for after-school staff gatherings

Did the Parent Room make a difference Did the Parent Room make a difference? (data gathered from volunteer sign in August 2009-February 2010)

The Parent Room

The Parent Room

Parental Involvement Parent Feedback A survey was made available to parents who used the Parent Room. 100% said they wanted to continue the Parent Room at Rockbrook. 70% stated that the Parent Room has increased their volunteer time, as well as overall time on campus. 57% felt that having the room closed for other activities affected their ability to volunteer and be on campus. Other feedback included the desire for more “adult” furniture, a place to store coats and purses, and toys for small children.

Parental Involvement Ending Notes: A goal for next year is to have the room available to parents daily. The room was often used for unrelated activities that detracted from the plan to bring in more parents, as well as make them feel welcome. Since few parents attended the parent education “Coffee with the Counselor” program, we are going to make new classes that are tailored to the needs of Rockbrook parents (eg. computer skills, resumes, etc.). The parent room would be better located outside of the security doors to prevent roaming. It would be ideal to have 2 classrooms available to counselors. One room could serve as the Parent Room, while the other would host special events, such as ECI, Kindergarten Round-up and guidance. This would allow for less interruption of the parent/volunteer use of the Parent Room. Messes were often left for the counselor to clean . A plan to keep this room clean needs to be devised. The Parent Room was a great success, bringing in 46 more parents/volunteers per month. Our hope is to increase this number next year.

Thank you, Menoosh Zaeri and Lisa Savinon, Counselors at Rockbrook Elementary