1. Parent Engagement Schools and Parents Working Together

2.  Unattributed quotes throughout this presentation were submitted anonymously through recent Teacher and Parent Surveys.  Most facts and ideas presented were also generated through Teacher and Parent surveys.  The full survey results will be made available shortly. Parent and Teacher Surveys

3. Suzuki Education

4.  ”We call our parent involvement at McDowell County Head Start ‘Parent Engagement.’ We not only want our parents involved in their child’s education, we want them to be engaged.” Engagement Involvement Isn’t Enough

5.  At events Ex.) Athletics games, performances, student galleries.  Regular********* Ex.) Homework routines, rides home from tutoring, PTA, volunteering. Two Types of Engagement

6.  “Parental support means a lot to kids and schools need their help.”  “Parents are their child's primary teacher who are the direct source of leading by example and promote a good work ethic and motivation to be successful in life. School teachers also lead by examples and are facilitators in a child's learning.” Teachers on Parent Engagement

7.  “Without out it only 1/2 of the battle is won.”  “I love Parent-Teacher Conferences, because we get to pick on our students together.” Working Together

8.  From a combination of Parent and Teacher opinions, the most common causes of poor home to school communication are:  Time (parent works a lot and so do teachers)  Out of Date Contact Info.  Parents had a bad experience with school  Parents are not updated on their students’ classroom expectations and material  Inconsistency in methods of communication Obstacles

9. Where are we now? Volunteers *Based on teacher surveys

10. Where are we now? Keeping Families in the Loop *Based on teacher surveys

12. Where are we now? Total Phone Calls Home to Date (15-16) *Based on teacher surveys

13. Where are we now? Positive Phone Calls Home to Date (15-16) Nebo requires that each parent be contacted by the teacher for a positive interaction within the first two weeks of the school year. *Based on teacher surveys

14.  Most parents:  Find the schools welcoming.  Would volunteer if given time to schedule.  Communicate with teachers primarily at conferences.  When they receive non-paper copy communication, it is through email, Facebook, and Remind101 text service, sometimes through ClassDojo.  Would like the websites to be up to date with contact information, assignments, and thorough calendars. Parent Surveys

15. What do we do???!!!

16.  Many of our schools have them and West and the High School are establishing them now. Establish a PTA/PTO PTA.org PTO.org

17.  Many parents want to help their students with their work, but, like many of us, sometimes forget exactly how the War of 1812 started or what binomials are.  This could be done by posting brief educational videos online, holding abbreviated classes during an open house or parent/teacher conference night, or encouraging parents to volunteer. Offer Parent Education

18.  We are already “at no,” so don’t be afraid to ask.  Groups already helping students include: -Grace Community Church - Tutoring -Glenwood Baptist Church – Tutoring -YMCA TAP Program (Teen Afterschool Program) -Private tutors -South Mountain – Child Advocacy & Treatment -A Caring Alternative – Mental Health & Substance Abuse Include Local Organizations

19.  Our school faculties work tirelessly to keep contact information updated, but many teachers experience an inability to reach parents.  If a contact is no longer valid, report it!  Include email and cell phone numbers in contacts.  Many teachers send home contact sheets at the beginning of the year with multiple forms of contact. Fight to keep contacts updated

20.  Mrs. Elliott is a past McDowell County Schools Teacher of the Year and now holds the position of Curriculum Technology Facilitator.  Mrs. Elliott has been an invaluable resource for the following slides and has already begun implementation of some of the technologies included. Embrace Technology

21.  Personally, I feel that the biggest problem we have as a district in terms of parent communication is inconsistency. Some teachers go above and beyond in the area of parent communication by keeping websites updated and using other tools and others do not. Parents and other stakeholders notice this especially when there are several children in a family and none of the teachers communicate in the same way. I do not feel that we need to be cookie cutter district and expect everyone to be the exact same but there needs to be an expectation. Consistency

22.  Whatever technologies or approaches we employ, they must be united and consistently applied.  ALL of the following resources may be utilized effectively for FREE.

23.  Remind.com is a website which allows parents to sign up in groups to receive text messages from teachers. Remind.com

24.  SignUpGenius.com allows faculty and staff to announce opportunities for volunteers and ensures the proper number of volunteers commit to specific tasks. SignUpGenius.com

25.  Students and parents are checking in on grades more than ever and administrations have responded by continuing to stress up-to-date grades. PowerTeacher

26.  In combination with another free program, YouTube now allows us to livestream and archive videos which can be made accessible to other teachers and parents.livestream and archive videos  At West, Garrett Berryhill has repurposed a laptop to livestream and record videos. It is a one-button operation accessible to all teachers. Livestreaming with YouTube.com

27.  With the new websites, schools are now working to update Faculty and Staff Contact Information.new websites County and School Websites

28.  ClassDojo allows teachers to communicate with parents in real time and quickly track progress.  Many teachers at Eastfield utilize ClassDojo regularly to great effect and several teachers at East Middle have logged in as well. ClassDojo.com

29.  Twitter is a wonderful program which allows teachers to send messages out to parents who “follow” them. It circumvents many of the potential pitfalls of programs like Facebook. Twitter

30.  With the education of students at stake, neither parents nor teachers can be allowed excuses when we have a wealth of resources, intelligent professionals, and caring parents engaged.  As professional educators, we can never accept a disconnected phone or other obstacle to stand in our way.

31.  Keep grades up to date  Use the Website and Remind101  Update calendars  Utilize volunteer opportunities through SignUpGenius  Return Phone Calls ASAP  Maintain current contacts  Approach local organizations (Churches are great)  Establish a parent organization  Provide for parent education  Make positive phone calls! Cheat Sheet…