1. MANAGING PARENT VOLUNTEERS BY: CRYSTAL JUDY

2. 1. Make a list of parent jobs. 2. Send home a handout listing the parent jobs with a sign-up sheet. 3. Once you have received the returned sign-up sheets begin making a schedule. 4. Make a plan to manage your classroom while the parent volunteers are there. 5. Show your appreciation. PARENTS IN THE CLASSROOM

3. PARENT JOBS Prepare a list of classroom jobs and descriptions to send home to parents. Send home a handout of parent jobs and a sign-up sheet. Have a volunteer fair or a volunteer orientation at the beginning of school. Create a volunteer handbook that list all available jobs, descriptions, and estimated amount of time required. Remember when making your job list that parents will have different comfort levels with different jobs. EX: Some parents may feel comfortable while others wont.

6. SCHEDULING Once you have received the returned volunteer forms……. Make a schedule. It’s important not to schedule too many volunteers to be in the classroom at once. Make a calendar to help keep tract of your volunteers. Then you will want to make the parents aware of the date, time, and job they will be doing. You can send home Helper Notifications to remind them. Ex: page 131 and 132 of Prior and Gerard.

7. TRAINING SESSIONS You may need to have training sessions with parents who will be working with children. This will help to ease parents anxiety over working with children. This helps to maintain continuity in your classroom. Explain: your philosophy, kinds of activities the y will be doing, and what to do to handle behavior problems. Make sure to leave time for parents to ask questions.

8. MANAGING YOUR CLASSROOM Having a plan in place that will cause the least disruption to your classroom routine will help! Let students know that parent volunteers are coming. Keep a folder with a list of instructions and materials for parents. In case a volunteer comes in at a time when you are able to speak with them. Ex: page 134 Prior and Gerard It is important to communicate with the parent as soon as possible when they arrive. Make the parents feel welcome and understands the task they will/are doing. Parents are there to help in the classroom not run it. Ex: leading recess time and grading papers or projects. Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act http://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/ferpa/index.html

9. SHOW APPRECIATION Make sure that you show appreciation to your volunteers regularly Thank them verbally when they are leaving for their help. Send home a thank you card every few weeks. You could also provide public recoginicogtion by mentioning their name on the school website or in a news letter home and thanking them.

10. Dear_____________ Thank you for volunteering to help in the classroom. You have chosen the following Jobs_________________________________________________________. You are invited to come to the classroom on day(s) and date(s). If you are unable to help on a particular day, please call me at phone number to let me know. Thank You! Sincerely, Your Name Page

11. GET MORE PARENTS INVOLVED Article: Plan Now to Get More Parents to Volunteer at School Next Year. GO WIDE: Focus on getting the most parents to volunteer not how frequently they volunteer. THINK FLEXIBLE: Come up with a variety of ways parents can get involved at school. This will allow for parents to find volunteering jobs that fit their interests and schedule. TUNE IN: Make connections with all kinds of families to learn about their needs and how they want to get involved. JUST ASK: Instruct parent's who are already volunteering to be parent group advocates. Ask parents: “Have you thought about how you would like to get involved at school next year?”

12. SOURCES Banturveris, K. (2010). Plan Now to Get More Parent Volunteersat School Next Year. ClassNotes, 1-2. Bystrynski, C. (N/A). 25 Ways to Catch and Keep Volunteers. Grat Schools, 1-5. Contributor, E. (N/A). How to Generate Parent Interest in School Volunteeringfor an Elementary Schools. eHow, 1-2. Gerad, J. P. (2007). Family Involvement in Early Childhood Education Research into Practice. Clifton Park: Thompson Delmar Learning. Jones, R. D. (2012). Tips on Recruiting Parent Volunteers. Ezine Articles, 2.