Area 1: Parent Support
for Classroom Instruction
My school has a couple of different ways we involve parents at our school for additional help. First of all, we are an Expeditionary Learning School and we participate in fieldwork almost every week are always looking for adult chaperones to meet our ratio numbers of one adult to every eight students in elementary school. Further, each class plans to crew trips in the fall and the spring where students go camping overnight, participate in some sort of adventure, and hopefully tie their experience to what they are learning about in science or social studies. We always need extra parental involvement from attending the crew trip, helping with gear check before we leave, organizing and preparing meals for all the adult chaperones that go along with students. We also have many sign-up genius’ created for helping out in the classroom to stuff a Friday Folder with homework, help in a small reading group, or play with students on a Friday afternoon during choice time. If parents have the time to devout to helping their students in the classroom during school hours, there are a myriad of choices available to them.
My school has a couple of different ways we involve parents at our school for additional help. First of all, we are an Expeditionary Learning School and we participate in fieldwork almost every week are always looking for adult chaperones to meet our ratio numbers of one adult to every eight students in elementary school. Further, each class plans to crew trips in the fall and the spring where students go camping overnight, participate in some sort of adventure, and hopefully tie their experience to what they are learning about in science or social studies. We always need extra parental involvement from attending the crew trip, helping with gear check before we leave, organizing and preparing meals for all the adult chaperones that go along with students. We also have many sign-up genius’ created for helping out in the classroom to stuff a Friday Folder with homework, help in a small reading group, or play with students on a Friday afternoon during choice time. If parents have the time to devout to helping their students in the classroom during school hours, there are a myriad of choices available to them.
Area 2: Parent Meetings,
Conferences, and Activities
Our school just completed our first of two student-led conferences that we offer at our school. Our fall conference is called a Goal-Setting Conference, and the spring is a more of a celebration of work. We also offer a passage-ready conference for those student that might not have completed their passage portfolio (see below in Parent Volunteer Opportunities). What is great for teacher, but tricky for parents is that we hold these conferences during the school day and parents have to take off work to attend. We will have no school for two days and hold conferences between the hours of 7:30-4:30. These conferences are an amazing part of the school where students should independence in being the leaders of their own learning and will explain their goals, passions, and share some high quality work with their family. From a teacher’s perspective, these conferences are always a wonderful way for me to reflect and reset as I sit back in awe of all the wonderful accomplishments my students have made since the start of the year.
Our school just completed our first of two student-led conferences that we offer at our school. Our fall conference is called a Goal-Setting Conference, and the spring is a more of a celebration of work. We also offer a passage-ready conference for those student that might not have completed their passage portfolio (see below in Parent Volunteer Opportunities). What is great for teacher, but tricky for parents is that we hold these conferences during the school day and parents have to take off work to attend. We will have no school for two days and hold conferences between the hours of 7:30-4:30. These conferences are an amazing part of the school where students should independence in being the leaders of their own learning and will explain their goals, passions, and share some high quality work with their family. From a teacher’s perspective, these conferences are always a wonderful way for me to reflect and reset as I sit back in awe of all the wonderful accomplishments my students have made since the start of the year.
Area 3: Parent Volunteer
Opportunities
Aside from helping out on fieldwork, crew trips, and in the classroom with various tasks, our largest parent volunteer opportunity comes at the end of the school year. RMSEL is unique in that we have students in passage years (3rd, 5th, 8th, 10th, 12th) will present a portfolio of their work to a panel of teacher and parent volunteers in order to pass on to the next grade. The passage process has two days. One is a reading day where volunteers come to the school, and read three to five portfolios and give feedback to the student in the form of a letter and sticky notes in their portfolio. The second day is a presentation day (typically scheduled about one week to ten days later) where students present their portfolio to the panel, explain what they have changed and why they deserve to move on to the next grade. It is a huge commitment for both the school and parent volunteers. The reading day is typically all day (7:30-5:30) on a Saturday in May and then a few hours on a Tuesday or Wednesday in June. It is a powerful and inspiring process to participate in and most parents who agree with the mission and vision of our school love digging in and helping students rise to meet their full potential.
Aside from helping out on fieldwork, crew trips, and in the classroom with various tasks, our largest parent volunteer opportunity comes at the end of the school year. RMSEL is unique in that we have students in passage years (3rd, 5th, 8th, 10th, 12th) will present a portfolio of their work to a panel of teacher and parent volunteers in order to pass on to the next grade. The passage process has two days. One is a reading day where volunteers come to the school, and read three to five portfolios and give feedback to the student in the form of a letter and sticky notes in their portfolio. The second day is a presentation day (typically scheduled about one week to ten days later) where students present their portfolio to the panel, explain what they have changed and why they deserve to move on to the next grade. It is a huge commitment for both the school and parent volunteers. The reading day is typically all day (7:30-5:30) on a Saturday in May and then a few hours on a Tuesday or Wednesday in June. It is a powerful and inspiring process to participate in and most parents who agree with the mission and vision of our school love digging in and helping students rise to meet their full potential.
Area 4: School-Parent Compact
In reviewing the sample School-Parent Compact template provided, I believe that our school should work with our leadership team to create something like this to dissipate some of the animosity occurring at our school around their lack of input in the decision making of our school. I think that our Executive Director would be against putting something formal in writing like this that our school would have to adhere to, however, I think that he might not have a choice. I think it is smarter to be proactive about parental involvement and create something like this that you can control and manage rather than reactively having to defend your actions to the board after some complaints have been brought to their attention.
In reviewing the sample School-Parent Compact template provided, I believe that our school should work with our leadership team to create something like this to dissipate some of the animosity occurring at our school around their lack of input in the decision making of our school. I think that our Executive Director would be against putting something formal in writing like this that our school would have to adhere to, however, I think that he might not have a choice. I think it is smarter to be proactive about parental involvement and create something like this that you can control and manage rather than reactively having to defend your actions to the board after some complaints have been brought to their attention.
Area 5: Parental
Involvement in Decision-Making
This is a huge growth area for my school. My executive director is currently under quite a bit of scrutiny about this issue at our school. Our PAC (Parent Action Committee) was dissolved or merged with our DAC (District Accountability Committee) and we really have no place for parents have any input in the school or decision making. We currently have three parents that are part of DAC and they are hand-selected by our Executive Director and our President of DAC, who has been the president for the last seven years. I am aware of nine different letters that parents have sent to our school board as a formal complaint about how this structure needs to change if parents will have more of a voice in the decisions our school makes.
This is a huge growth area for my school. My executive director is currently under quite a bit of scrutiny about this issue at our school. Our PAC (Parent Action Committee) was dissolved or merged with our DAC (District Accountability Committee) and we really have no place for parents have any input in the school or decision making. We currently have three parents that are part of DAC and they are hand-selected by our Executive Director and our President of DAC, who has been the president for the last seven years. I am aware of nine different letters that parents have sent to our school board as a formal complaint about how this structure needs to change if parents will have more of a voice in the decisions our school makes.
I think that DAC needs to be an open
meeting for the public and recruit and include any parent that is interested in
participating. If a parent attends
several meeting and shows an interest, they should be invited to become a
parent-leader at the school and given an initiative like a fund-raiser for the
school, or helping organize a service learning project for students.
Area 6: Parent Resources
Parent resources at our school vary from guides on how to access the learning management system we input grades, to a gear list for crew trips, to information on how to help your student in literacy and math. We also have a parent network of Crew Mom’s that organize monthly activities for students outside of school, sign-ups for conferences and volunteering and activities during some of the fun days like Halloween, Valentine’s Day, etc. Our Crew Moms are our parent leaders and act as resources for all other parents at the school. Our President of DAC takes on the ownership to train and mentor new parents in the role of Crew Mom (or Dad-we have never had one) into all the responsibilities and best communication strategies.
Parent resources at our school vary from guides on how to access the learning management system we input grades, to a gear list for crew trips, to information on how to help your student in literacy and math. We also have a parent network of Crew Mom’s that organize monthly activities for students outside of school, sign-ups for conferences and volunteering and activities during some of the fun days like Halloween, Valentine’s Day, etc. Our Crew Moms are our parent leaders and act as resources for all other parents at the school. Our President of DAC takes on the ownership to train and mentor new parents in the role of Crew Mom (or Dad-we have never had one) into all the responsibilities and best communication strategies.
Area 7: Parent Interest
Survey
A parent survey is another growth area for our school. This is not something that we have done in the past, however, I think it is a wonderful idea as another platform to give parents a voice at our school. I can foresee a simple google survey or survey monkey created as an initial data point to understand what parents hopes and needs are from the school. I know many districts like DPS require this and also give student surveys once a year. I believe this is best practice and something that our school should adopt as well.
A parent survey is another growth area for our school. This is not something that we have done in the past, however, I think it is a wonderful idea as another platform to give parents a voice at our school. I can foresee a simple google survey or survey monkey created as an initial data point to understand what parents hopes and needs are from the school. I know many districts like DPS require this and also give student surveys once a year. I believe this is best practice and something that our school should adopt as well.
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