MODULE 7: CHOICE THREE

The School-Parent Partnership Tracy Pepin University of New England EDU-600 Teacher as Leader August 19, 2011

MODULE 7: CHOICE THREE

At Coastal Ridge Elementary School we are very fortunate to have a strong parental involvement component as part of our school community. We strive to promote a welcoming place in which parents feel that their child is safe and receiving the best educational experience possible. We invite parents to be involved as part of their childs education. Having a solid partnership between parents and educators makes for a better experience for students, parents and teachers. As Dufour, R., Dufour, R. & Eaker, R. (2008) remark, the parent school partnership is a very powerful influence that needs to be taken into consideration when thinking about a childs education (p. 379). At CRES we try to adhere to this philosophy. Communication is vital to fostering the home-school connection and there are several ways in which administrators and teachers foster that communication. Our principal sends an electronic monthly newsletter to all parents of our students. If some households do not have access to the internet, a hard copy is sent home. It is also posted on a central school bulletin board so parents have access to it there as well. Teachers also post monthly newsletters to their own web pages where parents can gain much information about the individual classroom, including, curriculum, links to tutorials for certain skills, and upcoming events. Many grade levels are also creating web pages to have a central location for parents to go for general information about their childs education and curriculum.

MODULE 7: CHOICE THREE Another way in which there is an outreach for communication is Principals Chat, where once a quarter parents are invited for breakfast with the principal to talk about current issues. For example, a new standards based report card was just revised and our principal asked for feedback from the parents about this. We have a handbook which states all the rules of the school, where to find information and how to contact the principal or teachers at any given time. This is sent home with students the first day of school. At the end of the year, our principal, as well as the teachers send out electronic surveys to parents asking for feedback on performance. Community Action Team(CAT) is our very active parent group at our school. They fundraise, put on a variety of different programs each year, including a variety show and educational speakers for parents, produce a yearbook and maintain flower gardens around our school. They are very supportive of teachers both financially and policy wise. This year they organized grade level representatives so that there would be two way communication and a person who could attend meetings and inform one another about what was happening. They also organize Career Day where parents in our community are solicited to come in and speak about their jobs to our students. It is a way for people who dont necessarily have a student in school to keep in touch with and be aware of what is happening and build a bridge to the community. We also have a mentor program where many retired or semi-retired volunteers meet once a week with at risk students or students who are having challenges either at home or school as another resource for them.

MODULE 7: CHOICE THREE They play games, make crafts or just eat lunch together. This is another way that our school reaches out to the community. As part of our Professional Learning Community, many parents come in and volunteer during our RTi(Response to Intervention) time. They are an integral part of the success of this intervention and without them this process would not be able to happen. Often they take a group of students and play a math game or assist with a small group with reteaching a concept. These parent volunteers receive training by a district volunteer coordinator or by the classroom teacher. At the end of the year all volunteers are invited to a banquet in their honor as well as given a thank you card from the class. Parents are often an underused resource whose involvement can be critical to the success of school improvement efforts(ASCD, 1999). Our school is a fine example of involving parents in a Professional Learning Community. We have monthly communication, invite and involve community volunteers to be part of our school and have a strong parent group, but there is always room for improvement. One suggestion is to have parents take part in school governance by having a parent representative on advisory councils. In this way, we will create a positive Professional Learning Community where teachers, students and parents play an active role in the school community.

MODULE 7: CHOICE THREE References Dufour, R., Dufour, R. & Eaker, R.(2008) Revisiting professional learning communities at work. Bloomington, IN. Solution Tree Press. Association of Supervision and Curriculum Design (1999). Leading change in professional learning communities-getting parents on board (41)8. 1. Retrived from the internet, August 18, 2011.