Education: Making it a Family Affair Getting families involved in students’ education

Efforts Observed So Far 12 Annual Family Fair Family Fair Open House 6:00pm-8:00pm Thursday, September 26, 2013 Classroom Visitation 6:00pm – 8:00pm Hamburgers & Hotdogs Served from 5:15pm – 6:30pm Student Performances and Demonstrations Program and Club Information Free Food and Beverages

Efforts Observed So Far Edline: the school website – Parents can access school information and learn about upcoming events – With a username and password, parents can access their child’s courses to view course information, see assignments and due dates, and view their student’s grades – Mr. Hetzel updates EdLine every day for his classes

Efforts Observed So Far s – Mr. Hetzel sends out an to all parents the day before a quiz or a test to make sure they are aware DialMyCalls.com – This site allows Mr. Hetzel to put in up to 25 phone numbers and a 30 second message to be sent out – He first puts in numbers of parents that don’t list addresses then adds others – He is trying this site for the first time this year and plans to use it at maximum one time a week. So far he has used it to notify the parents of his Geometry students of a quiz, a test, and a progress report that was sent home.

Ideas for Involving Families in the Classroom Introduction letter to parents – Introducing self and course – Allow section for parents to respond with own information and any need to know information Send home positive notes/ s and make positive phone calls – Can also be used to give updates on what is going on in the class Send home calendars of when assignments are due, especially major projects – Invite parents to come see the finished projects on display Send out “newsletters” with course information, upcoming due dates, upcoming events, student announcements and achievements (doesn’t have to be just in the class), birthdays, etc, and a section for parents to send back questions, comments, suggestions, and ideas/announcements to be included in the next “newsletter”

Ideas for Involving Parents in the School Get to know parents at functions like Back to School Night and PTA meetings – Greet all parents – Sit down and talk to ones you don’t know See if local newspaper will advertise for school events – Back to School Night, PTA meetings, Fundraisers, Sporting events, Volunteer and chaperone opportunities, Donation needs, etc Organize parent dinner nights where parents can enjoy a meal and talk with various teachers about their child’s courses and/or see student presentations

Working with Diverse Families Non-traditional families – Be careful to not define families as mom, dad, and kids – Try to incorporate terms like parents, guardians, grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins, brothers/sisters, stepparents, stepsiblings, as well as mom and dad – Don’t always refer to households as 2 parent Differing SES – Be careful about making things accessible only online because some families might not have access – Be considerate when asking students to bring in items or resources All families can’t afford the same things – Be flexible with times to get in contact with parents Some parents may work different shifts or have to work multiple jobs Diverse Backgrounds – At events, see if you cab recruit bilingual parents or staff to help greet and translate for families who first language isn’t English – Try and find out ahead of time the languages spoken at home and see if translations of syllabi, notes home, introduction letter, “newsletter”, etc. are possible

Working With Diverse Families This article is a good way to sum up the discussion – The author notes that family is vital to a child’s development as family is the first teacher a child has. Thus, for a child to be successful, there needs to be a strong teacher-family- student relationship. The article notes the importance of getting to know parents, making contact with them, notifying them of positive behavior and performances, and it offers advice for successful parent-teacher conferences. Since family-teacher alliances are so important, the article stresses the importance of respecting a family’s language, culture, religion, and socioeconomic status. As classrooms continue to be more and more diverse, this becomes extremely important. I really like how the article goes beyond the basics we usually hear about (translating into the family’s native language, being careful not to stereotype, not assigning tasks that require too much technology access at home or heavy expenses). The article discusses how different cultures view different mannerisms such as eye contact, smiling, laughing, and closeness differently, and thus, the presence or absence of these must be taken in the context of the individual culture. Understanding this is vital to building a strong family-teacher relationship and to understanding our students.