1. Grade-level Parent Meetings

2. Grade-level Parent Meetings are a great way to build meaningful relationships with families. The meetings are a way to: Welcome families’ presence, participation in learning, and questions. Honor families’ desire to help children succeed. Connect families to classroom activities and data, school staff, and each other.

3. There is a strong correlation between family engagement and student achievement. When schools offer specific programs and practices to guide parents, more families become engaged in their children’s education in meaningful ways. What the research says: Parents need specific information about how to help their children, including what to do at home to support their children’s academic achievement.

4. What is a grade-level parent meeting? Parents meet in “grade-level teams” to learn about curriculum, content standards, and classroom practices. Parents are taught specific strategies and activities to engage in with their children at home.

5. They offer an opportunity for parents and teachers to become true partners in children’s learning. Grade-level Parent Meetings benefit families AND teachers Parents get: a deeper understanding of learning goals and classroom data practical guidelines, tools and activities to use at home to help their children a collaborative interactive forum to learn, discuss, and engage with one another and with staff These meetings help parents and teachers connect as a supportive community focused on the academic achievement of children.

6. What is the structure of a grade- level parent meeting? How is the content of a grade-level parent meeting planned? How can the meeting be planned for maximum family engagement? Ideas for middle and high schools

7. What is the structure of a grade-level parent meeting? Back to main Parents gather as a whole group to learn the meeting’s purpose. Parents participate in a student activity in each classroom. They are taught specific strategies and activities to do with their children at home. Parents may split into small groups and rotate through classrooms to learn specific information about the evening’s topic or topics. These may include standards, curriculum, and classroom teaching practices. Parents are invited to ask questions. They complete a survey and take home interactive resources to support the strategies and activities they were taught to do with their children at home.

8. Back to main Content is planned around student needs. Guiding questions can help you decide what the focus of each meeting should be. W h a t k e y c o n c e p t s d o c h i l d r e n h a v e t o m a s t e r a t t h i s g r a d e l e v e l ? What role can parents play? What information and resources do parents need in order to carry out the learning activities at home? W h a t c h a l l e n g e s m u s t t h e s c h o o l a d d r e s s t o h e l p f a m i l i e s b e s u c c e s s f u l w i t h t h e l e a r n i n g a c t i v i t i e s ? What school and community resources are available to families? How is the content of a grade-level parent meeting planned?

9. How can the meeting be planned for maximum family engagement? Back to main Let parents know at least a month in advance, with weekly reminders. Use technology: phone (voice and texts) e-mails Twitter website school-parent newsletter One teacher e-mailed a photograph of her class holding a “Please Come!” poster. Another teacher asked students to decorate paper invitations. Make the invitations personal --- from the child and the teacher. Emphasize parent empowerment. How can the meetings be structured so that parents get opportunities to ask questions, give feedback, and swap ideas? How can ideas, strategies and take-home materials to support children’s learning be given to parents who could not attend?

10. Back to main Use meetings to target outreach to underrepresented families or families of at-risk students. Ask teacher teams from a house/pod or a subject area to target specific learning goals that families can help achieve. Appoint a personal staff contact for each parent. T e a c h p a r e n t s h o w t o u s e n e w t e c h n o l o g y a n d o n l i n e r e s o u r c e s. C o n n e c t l e a r n i n g g o a l s t o c a r e e r a n d p o s t - h i g h s c h o o l e d u c a t i o n p l a n n i n g. Break parents into small groups for networking and discussion. Record the meetings and post online materials for parents unable to attend. Ideas for middle and high schools

11. How to Build a Better Parent-Teacher Night: http://www.teachingforchange.org/how-to-build-a- better-parent-teacher-night http://www.teachingforchange.org/how-to-build-a- better-parent-teacher-night Ruth Anne Landsverk Family-School-Community Partnerships Coordinator DPI Title I Team (608) 266-9757 ruthanne.landsverk@dpi.wi.gov ruthanne.landsverk@dpi.wi.gov Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction P.O. Box 7841 Madison, WI 53707-7841 If you have questions or would like to share a best practice used by your school, please contact: