Parent Involvement, Communication and Volunteer Opportunities

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Parent Involvement, Communication and Volunteer
Opportunities
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Why Involve Families?

• Research has shown parent involvement effects
  childs success in school
• Higher grades
• Better attendance
• Positive attitude and behaviors
• Higher graduation rate
• More likely to enroll in higher education

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Realities and Things to Keep in Mind

• Family structure
• Economic situation
• Approximately 1 out 6 children live below poverty
  line
• Working parents
• Nuclear families
• Cultural diversity
• Have a nonjudgmental attitude

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What do you think?

• What are ways to communicate with parents?
• How can you as a teacher involve parents?

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What Can You Do?

• Plan, Plan, Plan
• Communicate often
• Methods
• Newsletters
• Website www.pearlandisd.org/harris or
• http//www.pearlandisd.org/harris/documents/Newsle
  tters/March_2006.pdf
• Notes
• Weekly folders
• Conferences
• Calling systems
• Email
• New Communication tools in districts
  www.useiris.com
• Be consistent
• Provide at home activities
• Kits
• Scavenger hunts
• Dramatizations
• Take home puppy, camera
• Dont OVERDO THIS or OVERWHELM

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What Can You Do?

• Home Visits
• If your school allows this
• Conference
• Share portfolio
• Meet with parent and child
• Allow opportunities for feedback or suggestions
• Allow for opportunities to assist in the class
  (p.245 sample questionnaire)

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What Can You Do?

• Invite parents to school
• Observation
• Followed by conference
• Provide video/pictures with child captions
• Parent Corner/ Board

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What can YOU do?

• Workshops
• Family Nights
• Feed them and put them on stage!

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What Can You Do?

• Have realistic expectations- for yourself and
  parents
• Keep up with research
• Provide suggestions to administration
• Reflect and make adjustments each year

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Parent Conferences What do you think?

• What are important skills a teacher needs to
  conduct a parent-teacher conference?
• Discuss with your table

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Conferences

• Skills that are VITAL
• Good listening techniques
• Tact
• Kindness
• Consideration
• Empathy
• Enthusiasm
• Understanding of parent-child relationships

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Working with Parents

• Beliefs that teachers should adopt
• All families have strengths.
• Parents can learn new techniques.
• Parents have important perspectives about their
  children.
• Most parents really care about their children.
• Cultural differences are both valid and valuable.
  
• Many family forms exist and are legitimate
• Source LB Liontos

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Showing Respect

• Remember-- All of these communicate respect or
  lack of it
• Tone of voice
• word choice
• facial expressions
• body language
• Expectations
• how long we make people wait

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Planning for Parent Conferences

• Prepare an invitation
• State purpose of conference
• List potential times (morning, afternoon and
  evening)
• Dont forget to invite both parents (divorce)
• Plan goals for conference (1-2)
• Ask parents to bring list of childs strengths
  and weaknesses (conference form)
• You list childs strengths and weaknesses and
  propsed action to be taken

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Preparing for Conference

• Collect samples of student work to display
  (portfolio)
• Prepare to explain your goals and teaching
  strategies
• Schedule sufficient time
• Gather all necessary information daily schedule,
  checklist of skill areas and notes on progress,
  test scores, reports from other teahcers

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Preparing for Conference

• Make area comfortable
• Adult-sized chairs
• Refreshments
• Nice relaxing music
• Greet them at door
• Face one anotherdo not put teacher desk between
  you
• Provide paper and pens for parents
• Have a few activities for younger siblings
  readyposition these appropriately in the room

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Conducting the Conference

• Briefly review the agenda (you already prepared
  this)
• Communicate the SPECIFIC information you have
  gathered about this child
• LISTEN to parents responses
• Answer questions
• Set goals for future progress TOGETHER

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Conducting the Conference

• If delivering news about academic or behavior
  problems
• Focus your comments and efforts only on things
  that can be changed.
• Limit the number of suggestions for improvements
  so that parents are not overwhelmed.
• Speak plainly and avoid jargon and euphemistic
  language.
• Be tactful, but not so tactful that you don't
  adequately communicate the problem.
• Ask for and listen to parents' reactions.

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Avoid during Conference

• Letting yourself get defensive if criticized
• Discussing another child
• Criticizing another teacher
• Assuming this parent is doing a bad job (we do
  not know their problems)

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Lets Practice Conferences

• Make groups of FOUR
• We will take on different roles
• Teacher
• Parent
• Observer (2)
• Read the FOUR scenarios
• We will do one at a time

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Volunteers

• Parents or community members
• Screening and training
• Help volunteers feel that they are adding to
  class, not just assisting
• Many school PTAs organize volunteer programs
• Your school may have rules regarding volunteers

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Volunteers

• Some activities
• Reading to children
• Activities with small groups
• Cooking
• Board games
• Arts/crafts
• Music
• Have specific rules/ instructions
• Show appreciation!

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Tips in the book

• Look at a few examples
• P.3, Parents and Development
• P.228 Parents and assessment

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5 Cs

• Clarity
• Consistency
• Connection
• Confidentiality
• Collaboration

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Newsletter Assignment

• Brainstorm with your table ideas to put in your
  newsletter

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Family Involvement

• Why?
• Lets look at the state educator standard IV,
  4.1-4.2
• http//www.sbec.state.tx.us/SBECOnline/standtest/s
  tandards/ec4ppr.pdf (pg 16)

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Family Technology Night

• November 28thMassey Ranch Elementary (Pearland
  ISD)
• November 29thHerrera Elementary (HISD)
• Attendance at one FTN is mandatory.
• We will sign up tonight for one night.

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FTN

• You will work at one technology stationsign ups
  for stations will occur in CUIN 3111 at a later
  date.
• You will work with one family at a time.
• Your focus should be on education students and
  families to the softwares capabilities and
  educational benefits.
• You will be assessed on your professionalism.

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WHAT YOU DO AT FTN

• At your station, you stand and wait for a family
  (all of you take turns). If a family comes up
  with more than one elementary student, then two
  of you should assist. Try to sit a computers by
  one another.
• You greet the family and introduce yourself. Ask
  for their names (the children).
• Remember to talk to both parents and children.
• Explain the software. Give examples of
  activities.
• Ask which activity the family would like to do.
• Save a copy of the finished product to CD.
• Stamp Passport.
• Look at passport and suggest where family might
  go next. If they have done all activities,
  suggest them getting refreshments.

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Family Technology Night

• Schedule
• 500 UH students arrive for setup at school (DO
  NOT BE LATEaccount for traffic).
• 530 Parents/kids begin to arrive
• 530-730 TECH FAIR (ongoing)
• 730 Parents leave
• 730-800 UH Clean Up

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Family Technology Night

• Sign-up
• Randomized
• Car Pooling
• parking
• Dress Code
• Red shirt
• Nametags

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SIGN UP ORDER for FTN
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Next Group
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3rd Group
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Last Group