How can teachers involve parents

For me that should include, where necessary, a block of time during the school term where teachers and parents are brought together. Having two opportunities a year for parents to sit with a teacher for 45 minutes has been very well received at my school. Yes, teachers listening too. Parents now say they are feeling listened to, and all the technology in the world cannot replace this.

I may be a techie, but I actually quite like that old-fashioned touch, and it goes up on the kitchen noticeboard and becomes a talking point. Methods in maths is a common talking point. A simple video modelling an approach created by the class teacher or a pupil and uploaded on to the learning platform with parents given access can secure engagement.

One thing I advocate a lot is having events away from school if at all possible. One headteacher did the beginning of the year speech for new parents not at school, but at places parents were already comfortable in. Students with involved parents have better attendance , complete more homework, and have higher enrollment in educational opportunities after high school.

Parents can participate at school by helping with functions and activities, or communicating with teachers. They can also be involved at home in many ways, including guiding their children to manage homework and other commitments and engaging in discussions about values and attitudes regarding education. A school-family partnership does more than enhance academic achievement. When parents and teachers work together, students report higher levels of motivation and self-esteem.

Students also develop key social and emotional learning skills, such as self-awareness, relationship building, and responsible decision-making. Young people develop these skills when programs are coordinated across settings, including home and school.

When families and educators work together, they reinforce the kind of behaviors and skills young people need to become successful adults. The reality is that not all schools have the same resources. But the good news is that parental involvement makes a real difference in schools everywhere. We hope for a nation in which all young people have schools with the resources needed to educate and prepare youth.

Whether your school has all it needs or deserves more, involved parents make a difference. There are many potential roadblocks for family engagement in schools. Common reasons include demanding work schedules that allow little time for volunteering, discomfort communicating with school officials due to cultural or language barriers, and difficulty with transportation or childcare.

School budget cuts and stretched resources may leave teachers, counselors, and administrators less time to create effective systems for family involvement. But when parents are able to get involved, their participation can help schools make the most of existing resources. When parents are involved in schools and support learning, young people are more successful. When teachers and families partner together, teens develop important social and emotional skills and have better academic performance.

This may include volunteering, meeting teachers and administrators, or supporting school events. Talk regularly with your teen about school and learning. Make it clear you value their education. Set up clear homework policies. Suggest enrichment activities. Start by introducing yourself at the beginning of the school year.

Talk with parents, not at them. Ask families about their communication preferences. Start a blog. Record videos. School Activities Encourage volunteering. Include them in decision-making. Get to know them better. Teaching and Learning Strategies for Higher Education. When we say every, we mean every. Several studies demonstrate the positive link between family engagement and student achievement.

An analysis of public schools in Chicago that had strong parental involvement found that students were four times more likely to improve in reading and 10 times more likely to improve in math than at schools in which ties to community were weak. Some school districts are completely flipping the script in their parent engagement efforts.

Teachers and school staff are going into homes to meet parents, rather than expecting parents to take time away from family and work to visit the school. Buoyed by promising research, the Flamboyan Foundation, based in Washington, D. Related: Home visiting in high school: Trying an intervention for toddlers on teenagers. Elsewhere in the country, researchers have found promise in Academic Parent-Teacher Teams , a model developed in by then-doctoral candidate Maria Paredes, which is now used by educators in 26 states.

The approach also includes collaborative minute conference between a teacher, a student and his or her family each year. Evidence shows it is effective in promoting a sense of community, decreasing discipline problems and encouraging parent-teacher communication. We want to learn from one another.

About half of the families agreed to the minute informal chats before the school year started: Teachers and administrators hope that more participate this year. Throughout the year, teachers are encouraged to keep in touch with families. Malik makes sure it happens by designating time in staff meetings to write postcards home with positive news about individual students.

Tiffany Rodriguez and her husband are raising four children, along with three nieces and nephews, ages 3 to Maria Carsi, another Edmondson parent, said she learned how to better communicate with her four children — and especially manage bedtime struggles — in parenting classes sponsored by the school district and promoted by family engagement liaisons at Edmondson. The six-week session, conducted in Spanish, her primary language, was held at the Loveland Public Library.

As a bonus, the location prompted her to get library cards for the family. The school has also partnered with community groups to offer more basic services to its families. Crossroads Church, located less than two miles from Edmondson, provides food donations and volunteers for events, and the nonprofit organization, KidsPak delivers weekend grocery bags to families in need. Parents are actively engaging in learning how to partner and what kids are doing. School district leaders said other schools in Loveland are looking to replicate its engagement model.

Robin Keen, a first grade teacher who has lived in the Edmondson neighborhood for years, said her role has changed.