In Standard 2, the training discussed mentor support to enable beginning teachers to establish a respectful environment for a diverse population of students. After completing the measurement of school, family, and community relationship survey, you answered the three reflection questions.
A. What major factors contributed to the success of your school’s family and community involvement efforts this year?
B. What major factors limited the success of your school’s family and community involvement efforts this year?
C. What are your school’s major goals for improving its program of school, family, and community partnerships in the next year or two?
Choose one of the reflection questions and post your response to the blog. Be sure to read other mentors’ comments and offer comments and solutions to their posts.
Our school's family and community involvement has been a success this year due to the amountof opportunities parents are given to volunteer. We have a very strong PTO that involves families. We also have good communication between the school and home. Our administration works to create new opportunities to involve families.
ReplyDeleteMy school has frequent and consistent family and community involvement. Several factors that contribute to the success of parental/community involvemnet are our strong PTO, many parent volunteers, and good communication between home and school. We offer different opportunities for parents to be involved, such as Literacy Night and Grade Level Parent Meetings.
ReplyDeleteMy school has great parental involvement. Children & their parents are given many opportunities to be involved in their child's schooling. Such events as: Literacy Night, Grade Level Parent Meetings & each grade level has their own activities that maintain the school/family relationship. We have a very successful PTO in which we can provide many great opportunities for our students.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteOur school's family and community involvement has been successful over the years due to many opportunities afforded to the parents. Being in a middle school allows communication and parental involvement through various sporting events, dances, fieldtrips, clubs, proctors, newsletters, chorus and band concerts and recorded messages to the parents from the principal. Throughout my years of teaching there always seems to be that small remnant of parents that are active and willing to do anything they are asked to do. We as a faculty strive to incorporate all parents into our family to band together to form a partnership that will allow all of us to work together for the success of each student.
ReplyDeleteMajor factors contributing to the success of Alexander Central's family and community involvement include our increased efforts with the school and teacher webpages, ongoing development of programs such as ESL, the new mentoring program lead by Leah Wiley our school transitional student advocate, Senior Projects, Auditorium programs, Athletic events, etc. Alexander Central's campus is utilized seven days per week by various community groups including Cross Point Church, community athletic programs and a multitude of High School Clubs/Organizations. Our facility serves as a hub for the community and families find themselves on our campus for many reasons throughout the school year. The immediate delivery of information regarding school activities is made available through our school web site, the Alert Now System, Google Calendar, the Taylorsville Times and WACB ensuring that students, parents and all stakeholders of our community receive critical information in a timely manner. We feel good communication and the offering of a variety of events at our school increase parental and family involvement on the campus of Alexander Central.
ReplyDeleteI believe we all do a great job of providing opportunities for the parents who "always show up". I would challenge us to ask ourselves and our schools how we are reaching the parents who never show up and may be intimidated by the school setting altogether. This will be where the true success of our schools lies.
ReplyDeleteThere are several major factors that contributed to our schools successful family and community involvement this year. We have a strong communication system with parents. Parents receive calls from the school concerning student attendance, activities, upcoming events etc. This allows the parents to stay informed. Teachers also communicate regularly with parents through progress reports, emails, newsletters, websites, etc.
ReplyDeleteAnother factor includes our “family” atmosphere. Even though we are a big school, our students and their families are welcome at all events and most know the staff. The teachers are from the community and know the students not only at school but also on a personal level. Parents feel comfortable discussing their child’s strengths and weaknesses.
Our school is high minority, low poverty; therefore, we must meet the needs of our families a lot differently than most of the schools in our area. One of our biggest strengths is our respect for different cultures represented in our student population. It is not unusual to hear faculty members trying to communicate with parents in Spanish. Also, because of our low economic status we are able to qualify for federal and state funding for extra tutoring and after school programming.
ReplyDeleteThe chief methods of community involvement include the parent/teacher organization, the automated calling system the school/county use, newsletters, teacher phone calls to parents, and extracurricular activities which teachers attend. We also have opportunities for parents to volunteer such as assisting teachers, proctors We are fortunate to have staff to help with English language learners and they do a great job of helping us communicate in languages we do not know. Letting parents and students know the school is making an effort to communicate helps build bridges and foster school parent relationships and informs parents that the school is committed to working with parents.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with what both Joanna and Becky have mentioned above. The Alert Now system has not only made our county seem stronger with parent/family involvement, but it has specifically impacted the high school. The new phone system that alerts parents about students attendance is another GREAT change and reach to the parent/community arena. We also send our postcards and emails to parents...I think it's very much int he "small things" that we teachers can do as far as being involved in community activities, attending athletic events and programs of our students- GETTING TO KNOW THEM OUTSIDE OF SCHOOL- and doing our part that brings the community in to the school in a positive way.
ReplyDeleteCommunicating about school programs and student progress is the major factor contributing to the success of AC’s family and community involvement. With the help of our school website, teacher web pages, Alert Now, The Taylorsville Times and WACB radio, our parents and our community receive the information they need to form school, family and community partnerships. But finding a way to get and keep reluctant parents involved in their student’s progress is hard.
ReplyDeleteLINDSAY COX-
ReplyDeleteI believe our school is very successful at giving students multiple outlets to express themselves and grow as an individual. The community can see their progress at athletic events, auditorium shows, etc. However, I feel that even though we send out information and we put on shows of what the students are accomplishing, we don't really get the parents and community as involved in the process of reaching those goals. I think the amount of parent/community involvement in the elementary compared to when students reach high school is tremendously different, mostly in the "volunteering" section of the survey. I think our senior projects have been the best way we have involved more community members in the learning that happens at our school.
NIKKI ICARD -
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with what the other teachers from ACHS are saying. The Alert Now phone calls that are made have been a wonderful contribution to our students and their parents or guardians. Parents/guardians are informed when their students have been absent or tardy, when report cards or progress reports are being sent out, or if we simply have an important athletic event that needs all the support it can get. We as teachers also have our own methods of communicating with parents - phone calls, post cards, and I have made much use of Twitter in my classroom. It opens up a level of communication that many students rely on and make use of. Parents are also allowed to follow me and keep up with an information I post for the students. That has been one of my most effective tools that I will continue to utilize.
Since most of the other comments focused on what the schools are doing to assist communication, I chose to focus on what has limited our school. One of the major factors that limits family involvement at the high school level is simply that we are high school. Most teens do not want or encourage their parents to come to school events. I have often bribed my students to come to events after school hours (parent meetings, school-based enterprise events, etc.) and I still have very low turnout. I happened to be at a conference in November and a fellow high school teacher mentioned their PTA fundraiser. I was shocked to hear that a high school actually had a PTA group. I feel that starting a PTA of some sort would be very beneficial to the school and community if for no other reason than to start a dialogue between the two groups.
ReplyDelete~Erin Lewis (ACHS)
ACHS has a positive atmosphere. We encourage students to participate in band, arts, clubs and sports in any capacity they can. They don't have to be the "star" of anything but get involved. We have alot of activities to choose from and there is an opportunity for everyone of our students and their families to join. These activities are communicated through daily announcements, radio, Alert Now, newspaper and word of mouth. The more WE as teachers get excited about school happenings the more students will get excited.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I see ACHS as being successful in family and community involvement, there will always be room for improvement. It has always been easier to get many parents here for an athletic event or musical production and I am sure that will always be the case at the high school level. However, I would love to see the existence of something similar to an elementary school’s PTO program. I think that once families feel like they can contribute to a school, maybe they would be less reluctant to attend voluntary open house sessions. I do not even think that it would be unrealistic to expect parents to attend at least one parent conference during a semester. Although this is a daunting task (parent conferences with approximately 90 students), I am convinced that it could improve the family/community partnerships.
ReplyDelete-Allyson Barnes
Getting parent and community involvement has been on our top priority over the past couple of years. We have had a problem with getting parents to "show up" at activities etc that are involved at our school. However, this year we started the "Watch dog" program where it allows fathers and/or positive men to come and volunteer. We also have a supportive WTPS and we have started recognizing all our volunteers in hopes of getting them more actively involved. Our principal has also aligned our mentors/mentees up so that they are in the same grade level. We met over the summer to discuss possible ways to get parents involved and we want to plan more academic parent nights so that parents know what their child is expected to learn. I think we have lots of room for improvements but we have come a long way :)
ReplyDeleteOur school's family and community involvement has been very positive this year! Our WTPS is so supportive and has brought families in for family and fundraising events. Our school has also started a "watchdog" progam where dads are able to come and volunteer their time in classrooms. Mentors/Mentees are able to work together in the same grade level and meet on a regular basis.
ReplyDeleteWe are trying to improve our volunteer program by encouraging parents to be involved and recognizing them in monthly newsletters. We hope to plan more academic family and reading nights.
Our school's family and community involvement is successful due to many factors. We have a very active PTO that supports students, families, and staff. We have several opportunities for parents to come to our school to be involved in their children's learning. Two of the school-wide activities are Literacy Night and Preparing for the EOGs. We also have a lot of volunteer support at our school. We invite members of the community to come in and share their occupations with the students. We have volunteers who come in to work in the classroom and others who help outside of school hours(at home).
ReplyDeleteWhat major factors limited the success of your school's family and community involvement efforts this year?
ReplyDeleteI feel that one of the factors that limits the success of involvement is the lack of parent support. In years past we have tried to do things such as dinner prior to the PETS/PTO meetings but have found that parents will come to the dinner but will leave prior to the start of the meeting. I think part of the problem is that working in a high poverty area is that many parents are intimidated by the school system as a whole. They feel that their input is not valued so why bother give it. I also think that our high population of spanish speaking parents presents a barrier as well. Parents do not understand what is being said and therefore do not feel comfortable in the setting.
Parent involvement at my school has always been a challenge. As a staff, our success with building parent relationships has ebbed and flowed as we have tried different tecniques in welcoming and involving parents in the school climate and culture. The key factor in this effort is that we always TRY. Like Michelle and Kay have mentioned, we have several factors that prevent us from experiencing success in this area. What works one year sometimes fails the next. But I feel that our staff values parents and tries to establish positive relationships with the families we work with each day.
ReplyDeleteAs several teachers from my school have said previously, parental involvement is a challenge. In my experience, the teachers and parents tend to have good relationships and overall parents are supportive. However, parents are not present at the school functions. I feel the number one factor that prevents most of our parents from being involved is they often feel inadequate. They may have had trouble in school themselves, not finished high school, or do not speak English. All of these things would make it difficult to feel comfortable and confident going into a school and volunteering or participating in a leadership position. As teachers we have to creatively find ways to meet the needs of the parents in order to help the students be as successful as possible.
ReplyDeleteI feel that once students reach the high school-level, parent involvement decreases exponentially! Of course, we still have the parents of the most successful students involved in their own child’s education, but there is no PTO-type organization in which parents can become more involved as a group. Each individual teacher is responsible for keeping the parents of his/her students informed of each student’s progress in the course. Parents are rarely encouraged to get involved in classroom activities (tutoring, mentoring, etc.), and those that are willing to be involved find opportunities to be scarce. I feel that our teachers, counselors, and administrators need to work together to create opportunities for parents to become more involved in ACHS academics. We also need to work together to inform parents and other community members about the happenings at ACHS beyond the athletic field/court and the arts. I believe that the formation of an academic boosters program or a PTO-type program would be very beneficial to the students, teachers, and families of ACHS. We could more easily work together to help students be more successful.
ReplyDeleteElisabeth Turner
We have a small but faithful group of parents who volunteer each year, but there is so much more we could do if we had a vision and a plan for involving parents. It just takes time to plan activities and frankly, most teachers don't have the extra time. Certainly not during the day and it's unfair to ask them to spend hours and hours MORE in the evenings from their families.
ReplyDeleteAs many of my fellow ACHS teachers have stated, our school definitely has more communication methods in place to draw in and stay in touch with families than ever before in history: the school web site, the Alert Now System, Google Calendar, the Taylorsville Times, emails and phone calls from teachers and guidance counselors, just to name a few. I, however, am focused on the need to foster involvement and investment in their children’s education from the parents who are not currently interacting with us. As Elisabeth Turner stated, “once students reach the high school-level, parent involvement decreases exponentially!” This is made worse by the fact that the most involved parents are those of the students who are already quite successful, and that is definitely not a coincidence. As a teacher of mostly Exceptional and at risk students, I find that those parents I need to contact the most are generally the most difficult to reach. I frequently run into terminated phone services, answering services not set up, not taking messages at this time, no longer works at this job, and many parents will not return a phone call even when I can leave a voicemail. Add to this the difficulty of communicating effectively in such a culturally diverse climate as our community is. I understand that at the high school level students resist and even sabotage communication efforts between school and home.
ReplyDeleteI am convinced, however, that through innovation and collaboration new avenues of communication and interaction will be brought to the fore. Our school is blessed with a visionary and energetic new principal, our guidance team are caring and creative, and our teachers are the most giving and invested group of professionals I have worked with in my childcare career (30 years and counting!). My goal, and I know that most of my fellow educators share this, is to have 100% involvement from parents, to the end that school staff, students, and parents fully share the responsibility for student learning and success. And, that they interact mutually to attain it. Communication cannot be a one way street.
I am fortunate to have a mentee who is open, energetic, and culturally aware. New teachers here at ACHS tend to have a level of energy, creativity, and technological savvy that contributes heavily to the collaborative process which improves all aspects of public education, particularly, in this instance, the greater involvement of all parents in a culturally diverse but sensitive learning environment.
Respectfully,
Dennis
A. What major factors contributed to the success of your school’s family and community involvement efforts this year?
ReplyDeleteI feel our school’s success of involvement of both family and community involvement are directly related to the number of extra-curricular activities offered at the high school. CTE organizations, student clubs, sports, as well as academic clubs all offer ways of integrating family and community. I do wish we would have more staff development on the integration of these two vital components in that it would only benefit student success.
Scottie Cook
One thing that we did at EAMS is to incorporate involvement from the parent during our report card pick-up the first quarter. We had a better response to picking up our report cards and we were able to meet with our parents for a few minutes. Parents were asked to get involved with a class to help them help their children, and they stayed. Maybe the gift card drawaing helped? We plan on doing something again at the end of 3rd quarter which can only benefit communication and student success.
ReplyDeleteOur Head Start program strives to be family centered in all of the services we provide. All Head Start staff participated in a Poverty Simulation to insure best practices in our family centered approach. We welcome and encourage family involvement from enrollment throughout the entire Head Start experience. We seek to create an atmosphere which welcomes our families. Beginning the family’s Head Start experience with an advocate who speaks their language and who gets to know them on a personal level promotes the most complete participation of families in all of the services available at Alexander County Head Start. As we work with the families to establish their goals, we learn of their needs and expectations and can assist them in accessing in the fullest possible way the services and resources available in our community. By building positive relationships with both our families and our community partners, we become a bridge for their connection.
ReplyDeleteI believe that one of the biggest factors limiting parental involvement in our schools is not so much a lack of caring or concern, but simply a matter of the busyness of life. Families are stretched to the max with just trying to jobs, church and family afloat. We have very few parents with idol time to offer the school. The economic issues facing society at this time do nothing to improve this situation. Many parents are working multiple jobs just to make ends meet, allowing no time for meeting and volunteering in the schools.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that has contributed to the success of my school's community involvement is sending weekly progress reports. This makes students responsible for keeping up with their own assignments and it makes parents responsible for being informed about their child's progress. One thing that limited the success of weekly progress reports is that many parents do not require their child to show them their progress reports so they are still uninformed about their child's progress. One goal for our school is to have parents come in and pick up their child's report card the third nine weeks. This gives teachers a chance to speak with parents again about their child's progress.
ReplyDeleteI feel that weekly progress reports is important in keeping parents informed. Our required report card pickups also draws parents into the school to meet with teachers.
ReplyDeleteI feel that a major issue that limits parental involvement is that many parents did not have a successful school experience and they tend to avoid the school setting. Also, due to today's economy, school just isn't a priority for many.
One way my school is planning to continue to make progress is by having a 3rd nine week report card pickup. We are also planning an educational program that will focus just on getting Dads involved and Moms involved in their children's education.
I like your idea of asking parents to come pick up the report cards: at the HS, we never know if the report cards make it home!
DeleteThis is a schoolwide requirement for the 1st 9 weeks. I think we are also going to require report card pickup by parents for the 3rd 9 weeks as well. It is a great opportunity to meet parents we would not get to see otherwise.
DeleteA. What major factors contributed to the success of your school’s family and community involvement efforts this year?
ReplyDeleteI think having good communications between teachers, parents, students, coaches/other stakeholders is a strength of our school. We use telephone calls, e-mails, progress reports, conferences, and the revamped school website to facilitate this. Now, I think that communication is NOT just as easy as putting info out there. What if our communications are all in English but some families do not speak that language? What if we use a lot of educational jargon but parents aren't aware of those terms? What if we didn't communicate expectations up front? What if we don't "listen" for feedback from these other stakeholders? I think there are ways we all - experienced and beginning teachers alike - can do better in this area.
I would encourage my beginning teacher to maintain high standard for all students by showing her studies that prove students tend to internalize the beliefs teachers have in their abilities. The expectations teachers have for their students and the assumptions they make about their potential have a tangible effect on student achievement. Teachers' expectations for students-whether high or low-can become a self-fulfilling prophecy. That is, students tend to give to teachers as much or as little as teachers expect of them. A characteristic shared by most highly effective teachers is their adherence to uniformly high expectations. They "refuse to alter their attitudes or expectations for their students-regardless of the students' race or ethnicity, life experiences and interests, and family wealth or stability" (Barbara J. Omotani and Les Omotani 1996).
ReplyDeleteEarlier this evening we had a grade level parent meeting that had very dissapointing attendence. And of course the parents who really needed to be there were not in attendance.Our school offers parent nights at every grade level, a volunteer program, PTO with many opportunities avaliable, and a great Lunch Buddy program involving community volunteers. Despite these efforts, our parent involvement is greatly lacking. I agree with Brenda that our families are so busy with various activities that school activities often take a lower priority.Parent involvement and partnership with their child's teacher is crucial to their student's success. We cannot do it alone.
ReplyDeleteMy school has really made an effort in the last few years to reach out to the community. I agree with J. that the parents we really need to reach are often the ones that don't attend. we did have some success two years ago with a culture night. We had interviewed people in the community from different ethnic backgrounds and we ran a slide show for a couple of hours in the gym. We had food sponsored by a local Mexican restaurant and we displayed projects relating to different ehtnic groups in the cafeteria. I feel this was especially successful with the minority groups we have at school whose parents rarely attend school events.
ReplyDeleteOur school's major response toward community and parental involvement has been essential to all the success we have had up to this point. I feel it is necessary to be a relationship-based school. I would like to see more cultural nights and self-help type situations for the parents that are not understanding how to help their children with the curriculum. Parents, students and teachers are an essential partnership for all involved. I feel we must reach out to minority to groups to aid in erasing the barrior when these folks feel embarrassed or afraid to come into our schools. They should feel welcome always, and this will eventually help to erase some of those cultural barriers.
ReplyDeleteProgress reports are sent home weekly. Most teachers ask that they be signed and returned. This helps the interaction with parents. Unfortunately, many parents do not ask for or see the reports. In the future we hope to have parents pick up report cards, so teachers can talk with them. Again, some prents can't get transportation and some, well just don't care.
ReplyDeleteWe send progress reports home weekly. This assures that you as a teacher are reaching out to inform the parents of weekly progress or can show exactly where the student has a lack of understanding. We send postcards and have reportcard pick-up. Not only does this communicate with parents but shows our students that they are held accountable everyday for their work and participation.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the other high school teacher's posts. The use of Alert Now, Progress Reports, athletic events, Senior Projects and school website have gotten parents and community members more involved. With that said there is always more that could be done. As was said in an earlier post parent involvement decreases dramatically in High School.
ReplyDeleteI believe that each year our school makes great strides in communicating with parents and our community. The high school plays a very important role in our community. As a one high school district most of the residents of our county have attended ACHS. It is a place of pride for most our community members. Our school works hard to build a relationship between our community and our students, our athletic teams, and our organizations. We use community members as mentors for our senior projects, our students pack backpacks for families in need, and our facilities make our school the center of activity in our community. The Alert Now program as made our community aware of things that are happening in our schools and in our county. Teachers and administrators communicate with students families about their successes and failures. I think we do a much better job of communicating then most schools our size.
ReplyDeleteEd Wills
Ed, you've made some really great points. I often forget all the things we actually do to make sure our community is involved. I really like how you note how vital the community is to ACHS. After working in other school systems, it really was jarring for me to come here and see how closely knit ACHS is with all members of Alexander County. It's a great place that takes pride in what our students are doing.
DeleteWhat major factor contribute to the success of your school's family and community involvement?....
ReplyDeleteACHS has an administration that highy encourages the teachers to have contact with parents both to let them know the positve as well as the negative aspects of their childs learning.
We have clubs and groups that work in the community. My classes support the Junto's group by feeding them at least three times when they meet here at the school.
HES has wonderful opportunities for parents to get involved. We host several nights to allow parents to be in the classroom to better understand their child's day. We also have many ways for them to get involved in the daily activities at school. I just wish a wider variety of parents would be able to attend.
ReplyDeleteJennifer M
I think our schools work hard to get the parents involved. Sometimes I think parents think they only need to come to events like fall festival and PTO programs and that's all. I like that recent trends have shown that parent involvment can go on to trying to find out what is going on in the classrooms. EES has had programs to help parents with math homework as well as reading. Even times to show how technology is used has proved to be enlighening to parents. Sometimes I know parents think it is just all "fun and games" in the classroom. And yes, it is fun, but that fun has a strong purpose. It does bother me that many times it is the same group of parents that attend meetings. It seems silly, but many times if they are offered a free meal or some other incentive they will come out. I also feel like the fairly new "alert now"/"connect ed" procedures make parents feel like they have a bigger part. It may seem silly, but just having that type of reminder may encourage their attendance and involvement.
ReplyDeleteThese are really great points. I really liked reading your post because I was thinking very broadly when I responded. You've got some great specific things that we do that I think really do make a difference.
Deleteo This year, I am working closely with Bre Williams and Doug Rhoney for our Accreditation visit from the AdvancED (formerly SACS) Committee. Because of this, I feel that the reflection question about ACHS’s goals for improving our family/community partnership is very valid. During the accreditation process, we as a school are held accountable for involving parents and community members. Before becoming a part of this process, I saw parents and community members as important in my classroom by supporting what we are doing and encouraging students. I feel like we do a great job of that with our Cougar Club and A/B Honor Roll support out in the community. We also are heavily encouraged by our administrative team to constantly contact parents to keep them abreast on their child’s academic performance and behavior. The challenge we’ve always had as teachers is to make sure we’re contacting all parents for good things and when we need help. Now that I’m involved in the AdvancED process, I see the importance of bringing parents and community leaders into the decision making process. We need to be aware of how our policies and practices are perceived from an outside party. These stakeholders are also able to provide us with great ideas that we have not thought of because they have such different perspectives. I know that we are planning to involve more parents through our surveys and other activities linked to the accreditation process, but I feel we could even do more. I’ve always wondered why we don’t have a PTA at ACHS. This might be a good time to start.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you (and several other ACHS teachers), Robbin, that a Parent Teacher Association/Organization could be a very beneficial addition to ACHS. While parents are very well informed about athletic and artistic endeavors, when events are occurring and how parents can get involved, opportunities for parental involvement in academics are much harder to come by. Perhaps this is an issue that could be taken up by our school leadership team?
Delete~Beth Duncan
At East we send out weekly progress reports every Tuesday to keep parents informed about their child’s progress. We also send out Alert Now messages to when important upcoming events are happening. Last school year when we had report card pick up each grade level set up stations and parents could experience what a day was like for their child. We had stations set up for Spanish speaking parents and stations on how you can better help your child at home with their school work. Mandy Barriger
ReplyDeleteAt SPES, we have two FIT Nights through out the year. One during first quarter and one during third quarter. These nights are Families Involved with Teacher nights. We feed the parents and discuss up and coming classroom expectations and activities. On the second round of fit night, we encourage parents to participate in various stations around the school set up under interest of teachers. One year we had scrapbooking, yoga, art, etc. This time gives us an opportunity to let parents know what is going on and to bond with families. We also conference first and third quarters as well as weekly newsletters, alert now messages and reading 3D updates.
ReplyDeleteWhen students are more involved it seems parents are more involved as well. I think we do a good job at having a variety of activities for students to participate in sports, clubs and other activities. If these activities also help the students learn and prepare for a career, even better. From my personal experience, students want to find their niche. If they are excited about this niche, we can draw them in and their family, too. As an FFA Advisor, part of my job description is visiting students at their home or workplace. I have never found enough time to make it to all the student's homes, but the ones I have visited help me to understand where students are coming from. It also helps me to understand their diversity. Parent involvement is a necessity if students are going to be active in clubs like FFA.
ReplyDeleteEast has done so many things these past few years to improve our image and communication with our school family and parents. We send progress reports weekly, newsletters monthly, and have Report Card Pickup at least once a year, last year twice. This brings in our parents for small meetings with teachers as well as sessions for parents with varying topics like our new standards, and technology. Our staff has colaborative groups for committees, curriculum, grade level, school improvement. We are improving how we communicate with each other and parents by blogging, email, edmodo, twitter etc. We are still working to improve our communication as a staff and are learning to share more and communicate more positively. Through grants like IMPACT, we are continuing to improve our school environment for all.
ReplyDeleteWhat major factors contributed to the success of your school’s family and community involvement efforts this year?
ReplyDeleteI feel like the parent teacher surveys and connectedness contribute to our success. Most teachers at SL send home a parent survey at the beginning of the year asking for volunteers and about concerns of their children. On top of all the letters and surveys home we also have a Fall Festival where many local businesses donate items to be auctioned off to help raise money to be spent to help further the students' education.
A. What major factors contributed to the success of your school’s family and community involvement efforts this year?
ReplyDeleteI feel our biggest factor for success is simply our parent interest. Our parents ask for opportunities to volunteer and the teachers and school are always willing to provide them. The school sends home surveys for parent input and most of the teachers send home surveys about volunteer interest and talents and parent attitudes and questions about student learning. We also have family math and reading nights as well as open house and conference night. We try to keep an open door policy for all parents.
Our school is continuing to offer more parent involvement opportunities. So far this year we have held our annual Open House to allow parents and students to tour the school, meet the teacher, and learn classroom expectations. We have met with parents at our Parent/Teacher conferences, explain report cards, as well as address parent concerns and discuss their child's strengths and weaknesses. Our Family Math night gave parents the opportunity to see an Investigations lesson and learn with their child. Our school has several volunteers, especially in the lower grades, that faithfully volunteer in the classrooms. PTO at our school and Moms In Touch are wonderful!!! The PTO raises lots of money to help our school grow.
ReplyDeleteAt Bethlehem I think we do a really good job promoting positive family involvement and positive community involvement. As far as the community we have such a strong PTO that organizes many activities to engage the community in school activities. For example each month we have a diiferent themed PTO meeting/performance/activity. We started the year with a k-5 litereacy night in which each grade level did literacy activities with parents and students.We also have festivals,various celebrations,send home surveys to gage parent involvement, we have career day in which we open this up to the community for people to come in and share thier professions with the students and stress the importance of a good education. We offer many benovelence opportunites to support our families in need. As a school family we are treated as professionals and celebrate eachother, We are given the opportunity to share the knowledge that we each have with planning meetings and staff meetings. We do pass around a U rock each month at our staff meeting. The person that receives the rock then picks another staff member at the next staff meeting to receive the rock and shares a little bit about why they were chosen. To me, it is the little things that make people feel appreciated and that you are cared about whether it is at school or in the community, that promotes involvement!
ReplyDeleteAt our school, several factors have contributed to the success of family and community involvement. Efforts are made regularly to encourage family and community involvement through such activities as ballgames, dances, parent association meetings, volunteering, team breakfasts, weekly progress reports, and school and teacher web pages, weekly emails to parents and calls to parents from the principal. Some teams meet individually with every parent for the first conference of the year. It is very important when communicating with parents to try and be culturally responsive. Because of different socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds, we must try in many different ways to communicate in order to reach every family.
ReplyDeleteI think one of our greatest communication devices is our "Call Plus" system. Our principal at Wittenburg uses it a lot and I think this definitely helps parents and staff to be aware of what is going on within the school building and in the community. If we have a conference with non-english speaking parents, we have an interpreter on hand in order to effectively communicate with those parents. Also as a classroom teacher, I email parents quite a bit. Parents like this as they can keep informed of their child's progress and do not have to make a special trip to school. We also have parent notes available in other languages that can be sent home if needed. Our school has also had more success with parent involvement at PTO meetings because we have had different classes make a short performance in order to get parents to attend. We hold the performance first and then the PTO officers and principal make announcements and discuss school business with the parents. It has been positive turn-outs for the meetings we've held. If the students perform, the parents will come. This is how we get parents to volunteer for other activities throughout the year. We sign them up to volunteer.
ReplyDeleteI believe our school and community involvement is our strongest point at SPES. It is what makes us such a special school. We hold to FIT (Family Involvement NIghts yearly, two fall festivals, and provide many volunteer and mentoring programs. My mentors have seen how imoportant this is at SPES and have established great communication between the families in their classrooms.
ReplyDeleteI believe the factors that have contributed to our success of parental involvement are due to our principal making lots of telephone calls on our telephone system. I wished that parents would automatically receive emails as well stating the same information. I receive a call and email from my daughter's school in Catawba County. It is helpful in case I miss the telephone call. We also offer parent nights like some of the other teachers at other schools have stated. Most of the time however, you see the same parents time after time. We have offered "homework passes" to those students who have parents attend. That has worked in some cases. Maybe we could tell parents that we were going to make home visits if we do not see you at a school function before Christmas break? That would sure get me there if I knew that my daughter's teacher and principal were coming to visit unless I attended a school meeting!????
ReplyDeleteOur school does a very good job informing parents about everything involving school news by using our Call Plus system. Teachers are also ask to call each parent every nine weeks to check on parents and students questions or concerns. This open line of communication has been a great way to fix things that are wrong and prevent many things from turning into problems. We also have an open line of communication by using our email daily for little things that come up. Teachers write in planners daily,have conferences, and make phone calls to stay on top of issues concerning our students. I think good communication is the key to a successful relationship with any parent or student no matter what ethnic backgorund they have.
ReplyDeleteThe main problem we have with getting all parents invoved in our schools is todays busy schedules. In most homes both parents work and sometimes more then one job. Parents are very tired facing many daily responibilities after work and it is often hard to get them to come to school to meetings or conferences. We have started providing light meals, some babysitting services,and more time friendly meetings. We hope to continue to encourage all parents to become involved in their childs education.
Our community/parent involvement is overall one of our strengths at West. From our team breakfasts, newsletters, phone calls, websites to our all-calls from our principal, we well inform and include our community and parents of needed information. It is imperative that our parents feel a part of their child's school, and I feel we do a great job of doing just that. I really liked the idea of Family Involvement Night I read about from one of the other blogs!
ReplyDeleteAmanda Miller
Over the last few years our school has made a huge effort to communicate and involve parents in our school in a positive way. We have newsletters, websites, team breakfasts, sports, concerts, parent/student/faculty dodgeball games, etc. The use of the Alert Now system has been a great asset to our school. The homework hotline and agendas the students use have been a good source of immediate, daily communication so parents can be involved in what is happening daily as well. I think we are moving in the right direction to try to get those parents who may not be able to come to everything something school-related to be involved in with their child in a positive way.
ReplyDeleteDanielle Stocks
Our school does and has done a great job with parental and community involvement. We have a very hardworking PTO and guidance staff that works with our administration and teachers to help us find volunteers to help our students and our school. Our does a great job with communication between everyone by sending newsletters, emails, and connect ed calls.
ReplyDeleteI believe the involvement of students with the variety of activities offered at ACHS helps keep most parents in the loop of information about their child and the connect-ed system continues to provide a means of communication for all families in Alexander County. Teachers also make individual contacts to parents regarding students on an as needed basis with regards to classroom, grades, absences or any other concern that may arise. I also use email quite frequently when parents or students email me because of illness and absence to receive work to complete for the day missed. It works well because I can email the attachment to the student to complete at home for the next day or have contact with parents.
ReplyDeleteThe parents at our school are very supportive of their children and the teachers. This is why we have great success with our PTO events, field trips, and Family Math Night. Our parents are very willing to volunteer, help their children with their school work, and keep them involved in extra-curricular activities. I most often feel that I have the support of the parents. One of the things that have limited the success of efforts is the lack of involvement from the families of the kids that struggle. Many times we have invited parents to a Family Writing Night or Family Math Night only to find that parents of the students who are already excelling. Of course, we are happy to see those parents there as well, but they are not the parents that needed the information most urgently. In the future, I would like to see more parents at these events. The way that we can accomplish this goal is by keeping an open line of communication with the parents. If we speak with them more frequently and express our deep desire to help their children, perhaps they will be more willing to come to the parent outreach programs that we offer at school.
ReplyDeleteLauren Moses
I believe that the success of our school’s family and community efforts has been limited by societal and community factors. First, the current economics of Alexander County has forced families to concentrate more on their own “survival” rather than on their student’s education. Second, by the time students reach middle school most families have started to retreat from being involved in their student’s school. There is a small percentage of parents that are actively involved with their student the entire K-12 time. However, those students that need the support of their parents the most are the ones that are the hardest to reach.
ReplyDeleteWhat major factors limited the success of your school's family and community involvement efforts this year?
ReplyDeleteI agree with the many ACHS teachers who have discussed what is going well with our family and community involvement efforts. There are a multitude of things we are doing well when it comes to communicating with parents and the community. But I also agree with those who have stated that more can be done when it comes to communicating with our stakeholders.
I have seen repeatedly in the parents that I've contacted over the years that while they may know what's going on athletically and artistically at ACHS (via Alert Now calls, local media sources, internet communication, etc), they know very little about what's going on academically in their student's school life. I think it is mistakenly assumed by parents of high schoolers that they (the parents) don't need to be as involved and/or that we (the teachers and students) don't want parents to be as involved at this level. That could not be farther from the truth.
I have found that it is often vital to my students' success to have parents involved/informed. I try to call/communicate with parents as often as possible and will encourage my mentee to do the same. By the same token, I also make sure that guidance is involved in addition to parents, especially when a student is struggling. Guidance also follows up with parent communication and students begin to see that we are all working together (parents/guidance/teachers) to help students be successful.
~Beth Duncan
The most important factor leading to a successful relationship between staff and parents would be our communication efforts at BES. Parents have an AlertNow messaging system which allows them to hear automated voice messages from the principal to remind parents of upcoming events, closings, etc. Teachers are also required to send home newsletters, mid-reports, nine week report cards, Reading 3D data, etc.
ReplyDeleteAnother factor would be that we have a strong PTO program. The program offers a Glow Party, Fall Festival, fundraisers, etc. This allows teachers and parents to come together to reach a common goal of having a healthy relationship between parents, staff, and the community.
Our school does a great job of involving the families and the community! We have a very involved WTPS. They help to plan events, find volunteers to help at the school, and even contact businesses and individuals in the community to donate items or services for our fall festival auction. Implementing the automated call system was a great idea too. That way everyone is getting the same information at the same time. We involve more male role models at our school through the Watch Dog program. Teachers send home weekly progress reports and monthly newsletters. We also send notes, emails and make phone calls. We involve children in programs (chorus, plays, etc.) to encourage parents to attend events.
ReplyDeleteI chose Question A: The factors that determined our school’s success this year. I think ACHS’s successes in this area are due to fairly open communications- our staff is generally approachable and available. Also, we have numerous school clubs that connect to organizations outside the school- for example, Rotary is the parent organization of the Interact Club, Lions is the parent of Leo Club, etc. We also have a fairly active Minority Awareness Club, and a strong cultural component to the school’s ESL program, well known for its yearly cultural celebration. While it is not the same as having a PTO, or PTA, organization, I would submit respectfully that it is more appropriate for a high school that the students take a more active role, or at least have the opportunity to.
ReplyDeleteWe are blessed at Bethlehem at have an awesome PTO. The ladies work tirelessly to keep our community involved and to bring fun activities for our students to participate in. Because of their hard work, our school as an awesome reputation in the community.
ReplyDeleteOur parents stay informed with monthly newsletters by our principal, Alertnow messages are sent to remind parents of important events coming up. Many of our teachers use Remind101 to text reminders to parents.
At both of my schools, there are so many "right" things happening with volunteers. We have an invitation at both schools for volunteers to come in and help. At the end of the year, we hold an appreciation meal for them. We give awards for volunteers who go over and above in what they do for our school. However, times have mandated that what our volunteers can do to help teachers is limited. Some of our teachers feel that using volunteers is is more difficult that it is helpful. Some volunteers can feel that they are in the way. We have to be sure that we are using volunteers creatively and showing our appreciation for them all year long.
ReplyDeleteA mentor should help the beginning teacher to involve parents in as many ways as possible. Our school provides a wide variety of activities to appeal to all students. We also stay in constant contact through connect ed calls. Mentors should show beginning teachers the importance of maintaining parental contact and all of the different ways to accomplish this.
ReplyDeleteOur school continues a tradition of maintaining a close relationship within the community, and even the surrounding community. We have a number of classroom volunteers. We also encourage involvement with local businesses. Our families know that they are welcome to our school and classroom anytime. My student's family's know that they are able to contact me through email, phone calls, notes, ClassDojo (online behavior management system), and even social media sites. I believe this shows the parents that I don't think about their child only from 7:30-3:00. Teaching is a 24 hour a day, 7 day a week career. I hope to have shared that with my mentee and the importance of having parents "in her corner". If a teacher shows that he/she will be an advocate for his/her students, the parent(s) will be teammates and not competitors in the education of their child.
ReplyDeleteOur school works hard to promote our commitment to family and community involvement. Due to the numerous opportunities we offer, including Families Involved with Teacher nights, PTO activities, newsletters, conferencing, etc, we have been very successful. We also offer parenting skills type classes for those seeking additional ideas for home. I would like to see more opportunities for curriculum "help" for parents wanting to better help/support their student at home. This is something my grade level is working to put together for the upcoming school year.
ReplyDeleteWhat major factors limited the success of your school’s family and community involvement efforts this year?
ReplyDeleteAlexander Central High School tries to offer a wide variety of experiences aimed at community involvement. Examples of community and parental involvement programs include the Interact Club and Student council, Cultural Celebration, Juntos, Band Boosters, Athletic Boosters, as well as, the Food Pantry and the HAVES program. While the faculty and staff at ACHS strive to create various avenues for parental and community involvement, many students and families are not exposed to outside educational opportunities therefore limiting the success of further involvement. Even though there is a strong base of community support for athletics, many in the community do not emphasize the value of education. As a result, barriers to building a strong relationship between stakeholders and the school are created.
I feel it is very important for a school to reach out into it's community, as well as to it's families. TES is always concerned with finding ways to make this happen. This year we have had several parents volunteer in our classrooms on a regular basis and their presence has been such a blessing to our teachers! We have also partnered up with an area church to provide a 'lunch buddy' system to students we feel might benefit from someone coming to eat lunch with him/her. TES also hosts PETS programs/activities through-out the year. Usually this involves an update from the Parent/Teacher organization as well as a program involving one or two grade levels. We have also involved families and the community with a 'spring fling' or 'fall festival' as well as 'movie nights' for students. A movie night was offered during the Christmas season as a way to assist parents with shopping in the evening (while students stayed at school to watch a movie). I feel it is extremely important for our families to feel welcomed in their child's school and classroom. Doing so will help the child feel supported and can become a critical component on whether or not the child is successful at school- especially at the elementary level.
ReplyDeleteSPES is dedicated to involving our community, families, and our parents. One of our ways to involve others is Career Day. This opportunity allows the children and the community to see all of the different ways we work together to make our community the successful place it is in Stony Point.
ReplyDeleteWe actively recruit volunteers for various activities. They are welcome in the classrooms and in the school. We would like for all people to feel warm and welcome in our school. By demonstrating this it shows our children that we are working together for everyone's successful academic achievements.
Our PTO is always looking for parents or community members that want to become more involved in our school. Our annual Fall Festival and School Talent Show bring together our children and families as one and give us time to celebrate with each other outside of academics.
Our FIT nights, Families Involved with Teachers are times for fun and conversing about how we are all working together to ensure success for all students. This also allows the families to see what we are doing and be a part of things.
Parent teacher conferences are held on a regular basis at our school. We also hold them upon request in addition to our regularly scheduled ones. These conferences are arranged around the parent's schedule to ensure they can attend.
Newsletters are a big thing at our school. All of our teachers are well aware of how an open line of communication can go a long way when it comes to involving families. Most of our teachers send out a weekly newsletter to all parents.
Our school had a variety of activities that involved our community. Some of the usual was participation in fundraisers such as Relay for Life, donating food items for the local food pantries, and Jumprope for Heart. However, we also had Grandparents Day that was a huge success, and a breakfast for veterans. We have had special programs throughout the year to welcome parents and to allow them to do hands-on activities with their child. One in particular was a construction theme with the emphasis on reading. Students were accompanied by their parents and rotated to various stations to learn literary skills in an enjoyable manner. We have also had a wax museum where parents could proudly observe their child portraying a famous North Carolinian. Our school has made it a goal to include family members and the community in order to promote our school motto of "Yours, Mine, Ours".
ReplyDeleteOur school has worked hard the past 2 years to implement various activities to bring parents to school such as Parent Learning Nights and Family Reading Night. However, we are still not reaching all parents due to the number of families who do not speak English and therefore do not understand all that is being said to them. I feel to improve we need a translator to come with parents or pull them as groups to discuss what they need to know to help make the year successful. As well, the busyness of life is greatly impacting parent participation in schools. Between playing sports and church/community activities, parents have a lot on their plates. Also, the number of stay at home moms has decreased due to the economy and therefore the number of volunteers has been reduced.
ReplyDeleteParental involvement and classroom communication needs to be culturally responsive to help make students more successful. As stated in the presentation, parents that are more involved have more successful students. It is our job as educators to strive to meet the needs of all our students and to help fill any gaps at school or home. This job is much easier and successful when we have parents that want and know how to help their child. We have to look each year at the diversity of our students and gain understanding of their home to help the students to the best of our ability.
ReplyDeleteBDula
ReplyDeleteDiversity is more than race or nationality. We face diversity in the communities in which students live based on social, economic and religious beliefs. We can not ignore theses cultural differences. Each teacher must be aware of the various types of diversity and strive to reach each child no matter the differences.
Our school's family and community has been very successful due to the many opportunities we have offered our families and students. We had reading and math parent nights in which parents brought their children for educational games and food. Families enjoyed bringing their children to learn how they could help them at home, and they were also treated to dinner after a long day. We did make and take games the students took home to play with their parents. The students became the teachers!
ReplyDeleteFor year the ACHS has benefited from the community involvement in sports, concerts, and local cultural events. However,after analyzing the TWC and the AdvancEd results it was apparent that ACHS needed improvement in school and community involvement and communication. The use of the Alert Now, PowerSchool, social media such as Twitter and Facebook, and more contacts made in Seminar has greatly increased the community involvement. PowerSchool provides students and parents to check attendance and grades at any time. With a click of the mouse parents can email teachers to make comments, ask questions, or schedule tutoring sessions. The use the ChromeBooks has helped to foster more communication between the school and the community.
ReplyDeleteEric Walker
Our school is working hard to involve the parents and community in the education process of our students. We have parent nights which allow the parents to come and take part in activities with their children. This helps the parents learn new ways to help their children and also builds the relationship between the parents and the school personnel. Our school also supports the Hiddenite Pantry.
ReplyDeleteThe school that I teach at works very hard to find ways to make parents feel welcome and to encourage them to participate. However, this proves to be a challenge at times. We have frequent P.E.T.S meetings where parents are invited to attend and at times we have parent nights for specific grade levels. I feel as teachers that our job is to continue to be creative in finding ways to reach parents and to make them feel as they part of the school.
ReplyDeleteEmily Schwandt
At ACHS, the introduction of the 1:1 initiative has made majors strides in keeping parents and the community better informed as to the great things happening here. Parents can now, with the opening of the parent portal in Power School, keep a better check on the work and progress of their students. I know that my parents keep a vigilant eye on their students' grades. This opens the door for better communication between parents and teachers because parents can see issues and sometimes initiate contact to discuss concerns even before the teacher gets the opportunity. I believe that this also makes the students more accountable. Many of my students constantly check their grades and talk about their concerns with me as well.
ReplyDeleteParent involvement is crucial. At my school, we provide opportunities for parents to be involved, but a large majority of the time it is the same parents. We must get creative in reaching out and finding ways to get more parents involved and make them feel "a part' of our school. I feel a lot of our parents feel inadequate. I also feel we need to connect more with the community, in letting them know the awesome things that go on at our school.
ReplyDeleteWhat major factors contributed to the success of your school’s family and community involvement efforts this year?
ReplyDeleteHome and school communication is a priority in our school. From administration to teachers, we value the need to have effective communication with parents. We encourage volunteers and provide parent nights for the parents to come into the classroom and be a part of each student's education.
Many of the major factors that have contributed to our success at the high school with regards to family and community involvement have been mentioned before. One of the major developments has been the 1:1 Chromebook initiative. Although it has often been a challenge, I believe that it has increased communication. This has of course been aided by the Parent Portal in Powerschool. Parents are able to keep up with grades and attendance and I have had many occasions when parents have stepped in before it became too late. In addition to these things, the use of social media such as Twitter by organizations, sports teams, the counseling center, as well as the whole school has led to parents and community members being more informed about what is going on and what is coming up.
ReplyDeleteJosh Williamson
"When staff work together as a professional learning community--when they work together to clarify purpose and priorities, establish and contribute to collaborative teams, participate in continuous improvement cycles of gathering data on student achievement, identify areas of concern, generate strategies for improving student performance, support each other as they implement those strategies, and gather new data to assess the impact of their collective efforts--and when they are relentless in their efforts to improve achievement for all students, they increase the likelihood of sustained, substantive school improvement. The research is clear and compelling on this point. In fact, I am unaware of any credible research that suggests the best strategy for school improvement is to ensure each teacher works in isolation." I have found this statetment to be most true in my role as an EC teacher. I collaborate everyday with my EC peers at my school and in the system to continue to provide the best learning environment for our students. I also continually collaborate with teachers throughout the school to ensure that every EC student is given every opportunity to learn and succeed. As a mentor, I believe that modeling this practice is one of the most important skills I can teach a mentee. It is vital to a student's success to stay in close communication with and work together with other teachers to strategize and accommodate for all learning types and behaviors.
ReplyDeleteOur school's family and community involvement has been successful over the years due to many opportunities given to the parents. We regularly send our a newsletter that can be accessed online, calls are made to keep parents informed about upcoming events, and parents are given opportunity to be involved through WPA, sporting events, band, chorus, and a number of other events going on at our school. Also, the parent portal in Powerschool has vastly increased the opportunity given to parents to be actively involved in their children's education. As a teacher, I also strive to create a welcoming environment in my classroom by continuous communication through student planners, and opportunities for parents to visit.
ReplyDeleteThis year we have had more successful family and community involvement than in the past several years. We had an auction in conjunction with our Fall Festival, a Math Superhero Night, a community yard sale, School Beautification Day, a golf tournament, along with regular conferencing and Open House/PTO performance events. We were also able to order t-shirts for all students and staff free of charge due to community sponsorship.
ReplyDeleteIn the past several years, our school has made a conscious effort to become more involved and open to our community. Parents are (and have always been) welcome in the building; however, we have focused on making sure parents are aware of all the activities WAMS provides and how we encourage our students to "give back to the community". Our previous parent contacts were in the form of Homework Hotlines, newsletters, and notes home. Now, progress reports are sent weekly and Parent Portal allows live academic updates. An easily navigated website and up-to-date teacher pages including calendars notify parents of upcoming events. Multiple press releases have been made to show how our students are active in the local community; not just sports, but Coat Drives, Food Banks, mission beautification projects, and assisting local churches with their community efforts. This has resulted in the community coming to our aid when needed both financially for Benevolence projects and physically for things such as testing proctors.
ReplyDelete- Anita Whitehurst
Our school is working to improve parental and community resources.We send weekly or biweekly progress reports. We use a text messaging system to alert parents of news. This year we hosted a reading involvement night. We also invite parents for special activities including the book fair, festivals and performances. I have a grandparent that volunteers in my classroom every week. We try to embrace all students, no matter their backgrounds. Most teachers offer free tutoring weekly so students can make up or redo assignments. In this way we can individualize instruction on different levels. We also have teachers that hold working lunches for kids that can't stay after school. Our PTA has been more active in recent years as well.
ReplyDelete