Parent Involvement
Part
of the
Elizabeth Chapin-Pinotti
Assistant Superintendent of
C&I
Amador Public Schools
echapin-pinotti@amadorcoe.k12.ca.us
Table
of Contents
1.
Handbooks for
Conferences
a.
Follow Up
Training
2.
Handbooks of
Everyday Activities
a.
Follow Up
Training
All of the PowerPoints,
handbooks and presentation materials contained in this workshop are available –
for free – at:
www.chapinpinottilearningcenter.com
The only restrictions
are:
«
Whenever
possible – please link directly to the website
«
If you are
making printed handbooks – go ahead – use your logo…but please…always credit the
author
«
Always credit
the author
Welcoming
Families
It is more
important than ever before to engage parents and guardians and make them feel
like family. To do this everyone
from the administrator to the office staff to teachers to the school grounds
keeper must extend a genuine welcome to parents and make them real partners in
the education process. The more
parents become involved at school – the more likely they are to help then
students at home.
KEY POINT: Make parents feel
welcome
Why do
Families Become Involved?
Studies like
children’s school success to their parent’s attitudes and beliefs about
education. The degree to which
parents become involved in education depends on three factors:
1.
Their sense of
efficacy: the belief in their own
capabilities and whether their involvement will make a difference in their
child’s success in school.
2.
Their
understanding of the parent role – understanding their responsibility in the
development of their child as it pertains to school
3.
The invitation
they receive from the school – whether they have been encouraged by their
children and the staff to become involved – coupled with information and tools
they have been provided to help their children succeed in school.
Most Important
Factor
– School Invitingness
Research
indicates that the most important of these factors as the most consistent
predictor of parent involvement is school
invitingness. This is great
news – as this is one thing that school staffs can, indeed, change.
An inviting atmosphere is especially important to make stronger
connections with families of children of disabilities or in communities with
diverse culture, language and economic factors.
Parents report
feeling welcomed at the secondary level is just as important and relevant as it
is in elementary or middle school.
KEY POINT: Don’t underestimate
“school invitingness”
How to Be a
Welcoming School
§
Make sure that
“Welcoming” is an active and ongoing process.
Parents need frequent invitations, but from the school and from their
children.
§
Honor the
contributions of all families – no matter how large or small – from volunteering
at school to helping their children at home.
§
Show parents
they are respected with frequent “two-way” communication in language parents
understand.
§
Address
parents’ specific concerns.
§
Connect family
engagement efforts to student learning.
§
Help parents
understand curriculum expectations.
§
Give parents
the tools to help their children.
”Specific, well-crafted, and sensitive teacher invitations
to involvement appear to meet many parents’ expressed wishes
for ideas about how they can help their children learn.”
-- Hoover-Dempsey et al, 2005
Encouraging
Front Office “Customer Service With a Smile”
We don’t
usually think of educators as providing “customer service”; however, it is a
large part of what we need to do to create a thriving and successful school
environment. The term “customer
service” reflects the fact that teachers, principals and staff are employed by
parents and citizens of the community and are charged with the most important
role in society – educating future generations of citizens!
Educators and
other school staff who view their jobs in this light understand the importance
of making parents and guests feel welcome in their schools.
All staff are ambassadors for their school.
And who are the number one public relations people on the entire school
campus –
the front office staff!
The front
office staff is charged with greeting parents and visitors, helping with student
registration, answering telephones, dealing with students, dealing with
teachers…and emergencies and boo-boos and discipline…the list is endless.
Their attitude as they perform the myriad of tasks to which they are
assigned and undertake is paramount.
As difficult as it may be – they do deal with some issues that would make
anyone’s hair curl – it is important that they are
always professional and courteous.
The Physical
Environment:
§
Are signs
posted near the entrances that welcome parents and visitors and give clear
directions to the main office?
§
Do bulletin
boards reflect the school’s cultural, racial and linguistic diversity?
Daily
Practices of the Staff:
§
Do teachers
call parents to report something positive about their children?
§
Are
alternative communication methods used with parents who speak limited English to
help them understand the curriculum and participate in activities
School
Attitudes and Actions
§
Do they talk
to visitors in friendly, welcoming tones?
§
Are written
materials friendly, welcoming and respectful?
Give Teachers
the Tools to Reach Out to Families
A good
teacher, not even a great one, is one of the world’s most valuable resources…and
should be treated as such. Part of
that process must necessarily involve providing teachers with all of the
resources necessary to be successful and tools and training regarding parent
involvement and interaction is essential to this process.
Staff
development can help teachers to understand the benefits of family involvement
and show them how to remove barriers to involvement. It can also explain
techniques for improving two-way communication between home and schools, and
suggest ways to help meet families' overall educational needs.
A
Parent’s Role in Teaching
Kids
they Matter
Parents as Asset
Builders
As a parent, care giver or guardian – you are
a student’s number one asset builder!
This is an important responsibility.
Below are some things to remember as you go through the year dealing with
students everyday.
Assets are Powerful!
The Search Institute has identified 40
concrete, positive experiences and qualities – the Developmental Assets – that
have a tremendous influence on young people’s lives.
These assets have the power to influence choices young people make and
help them become caring, responsible adults.
Recent research suggests that beyond food and shelter, today’s young people need
three things for healthy development:
§
Safe places
§
Caring adults
§
Positive
activities
Research by Search also shows that the more
Assets young people have, the less likely they are to engage in high risk
behaviors.
On average, young people with more Assets:
§
Engage in fewer
negative, high-risk behaviors, such as using drugs and alcohol, being violent,
and having premarital sex.
§
Exhibit more
positive or thriving behaviors such as succeeding in school, exhibiting
leadership qualities, and valuing diversity.
§
Are more
resilient in the face of challenges, stresses and difficult situations.
Everyone’s an Asset Builder
Young
people need positive external supports and internal strengths – Assets—in order
to succeed in life. They need
people to help nurture these Assets and help them navigate and thrive in a world
that is full of change and challenges.
Everyone is an Asset
Builder. It doesn’t take money or
special training. You can be a
child, teenager, single adult, parent, grandparent or neighbor – anyone can
build Assets.
Review the
50 Ways to Show You Care for ideas on
how you can start building Assets in the young people in your life.
Asset Categories
The 40 Assets of healthy
development that help young people grow up health, caring and responsible are
divided into eight categories.
The first four Asset Categories focus on
external structures, relationships and activities that create a positive
environment for young people.
Support:
Young people need to be surrounded by people who love, care for,
appreciate and accept them.
Empowerment:
Young people need to feel valued and valuable.
This happens when youth feel save and respected.
Boundaries and Expectations:
Young people need clear rules, consistent consequences for braking rules,
and encouragement to do their best.
Constructive Use of Time:
Young people need opportunities –
outside of school – to learn and develop new skills and interests with other
young adults.
The next four categories reflect internal
values, skills and beliefs that young people also need to fully engage with and
function in the world around them.
Commitment to Learning:
Young people need a sense of the latest importance of learning and belief
in their own abilities.
Positive Values:
Young people need to development strong guiding values or principals to
help them make healthy life choices.
Social
Competencies:
Young people need the skills to interact effectively with others, to make
difficult decisions and to cope with new situations.
Positive Identity:
Young people need to believe in their own self-worth and to feel that
they have control over the things that happen to them.
Affirm…Interact…Engage…Empower
Build Assets in Kids:
25 Ways to Show You Care
1.
Notice them
2.
Ask them about
themselves
3.
Be yourself
4.
Cheer their
accomplishments
5.
Go places
together
6.
Introduce them
to new experiences
7.
Expect their
best; don’t expect perfection
8.
Catch them
doing something right
9.
Laugh at their
jokes
10.
Suggest better
behaviors when they act out
11.
Hug them.
12.
Be curious with
them.
13.
Play outside
together
14.
Delight in
their discoveries
15.
Be available
16.
Create a safe,
open environment
17.
Daydream with
them
18.
Make decisions
together
19.
Magnify their
magnificence
20.
Build something
together
21.
Let them make
mistakes
22.
Inspire their
creativity
23.
Invite them
over for juice
24.
Listen to their
favorite music with them
25.
Love
them, no matter what
Is this you…
Þ
I know and use the names of people – young and old- regularly when I see them.
Þ
I focus daily on all people's gifts and talents.
Þ
I help youth use their strengths to overcome their deficits.
Þ
I regularly encourage other adults in my community to build assets with young
people.
Þ
When young people are in trouble, I begin my interactions with them by focusing
on their strengths.
Þ
I'm expanding my positive influence by pursuing relationships with young people
I don't know.
Þ
At lease once a week, I do something for or with people that goes beyond their
normal expectations.
Þ
I work hard to maintain relationships with people with whom I am already
connected.
Þ
I have high expectations for myself, my fellow community members, and young
people in my community.
Þ
I take the time to listen when people speak with me.
Þ
I take the initiative in engaging with people positively.
Þ
I smile at and make eye contact with any person -- young or old- as I go about
my day.
Þ
I believe that my power as an asset builder comes from the relationships that I
develop with people.
Þ
I engage people of all ages positively where ever I go
For the
complete 40 Developmental Assets
(Search
Institute) program – log on to
http://www.search-institute.org/assests/.
It is truly
awesome.
Parent Involvement Idea
Host a Monthly Asset
“Children learn from adults.
If you don’t read for fun,
why would your kids?”
Robert Munsch
Step 1:
Have a Parent Developmental Assets Workshop
Step 2:
Monthly Asset Reading Night:
Load up on the following books, invite parents into a school or a classroom and
have reading and activity night…
Raising a Reader:
Literacy, the ability to
read and write, is essential in the world today.
Communicate to parents that it is important to enjoy 15 to 30 minutes of
reading every day and that by doing so…they can truly make a difference.
Only the best books are
good enough for children – encourage parents to check out many from the library
- -because only a handful of those many will be good enough to buy and read over
and over.
Message to Communicate to Parents:
Þ
Read for
pleasure – being a positive role model is essential
Þ
Read with their
child – it helps them bond and create meaningful memories
Þ
Have fun – read
aloud with expression and drama
Þ
Find books on
topics that interest their child
Þ
Bring books to
life. Help parents understand how
to link reading to the world around them with related talk and activities
inspired by what they are reading with their children.
Parent
Asset Reading Pre-Service – Parent Instruction Power Point
As parents and caregivers, you can help
lay down the foundation for a love of reading and nurture children’s
development. Here are some things you can do to raise a lifelong reader:
Talk, Sing, and
Play
Babies delight in hearing language. Talk as
you do simple everyday things together: recite nursery rhymes, and do finger
plays, games and action songs.
Make Time to
Read
Try to read with your child every day at a
regularly scheduled time. If possible, choose a time when you can be relaxed and
not rushed. If you have more than one child, spend time reading with each child
separately, especially if they’re more than two years apart. On days that are
particularly hectic, bring a few books when you take children along on errands.
Taking time to read to children on a regular basis sends the message that
reading is worthwhile.
One More
Time...PLEASE?!
As every adult who cares for children knows,
they often ask to hear the same story again and again. They delight in knowing
what comes next and often learn a favorite book so well that they can "read" it
on their own. That favorite story may speak to your child’s current interests
and emotional needs, so it’s important for the adults in their lives to be
patient during this phase. Young children are eventually ready for different
stories if they are continuously exposed to a variety of books.
Slow Down
It’s not just what you read to children, but
how you read that matters. If adults rush through stories or read without
enthusiasm, children quickly lose interest. Try to read with expression and use
different voices for the characters. Reading at a leisurely pace with occasional
pauses gives children time to take in what they hear, mull it over, and imagine
the people, places, and events. Pose a question or make a remark that will
prompt the child to think, express himself, or relate the story to his own
experiences. It’s also a good idea to follow children’s cues. Sometimes they are
caught up in the story and don’t want stops and detours along the way.
Choose Books
with Care
Reading together often, you learn a lot about
the kinds of books your child likes and understands. Visit the local library and
involve your child in deciding what to bring home. Selecting books that relate
to what’s happening in the child’s life at that time is a good way to ease
transitions and allay fears about upcoming events. Topics such as potty
training, new siblings, adoption, or moving to a new home are covered in a
variety of books that are written specifically for young children.
Surround
Children with Reading Material
In addition to library books, children also
like having some books of their own that they can read whenever the mood strikes
them. Affordable used books can be found at yard sales, thrift stores,
secondhand book stores, and public library book sales. Consider subscribing to a
good children’s magazine--children love having something come in the mail just
for them!
Don’t Pressure
Children About What or When to Read
Nagging children about their reading habits
may cause them to resist reading all-together. Some school-age children choose
to read only comic books or fan magazines after their homework is completed. Try
not to criticize--after all, they are reading. If a child makes a mistake when
reading aloud, don’t interrupt. If the mistake doesn’t change the meaning, let
it go.
Show That You
Value Their Efforts
Nothing is more important for fostering
readers than showing genuine enthusiasm. Ask your child to read to you, a
younger child, or a special visitor. Talk with him about what he is reading and
respond positively.
Use
the Read Aloud Table to Keep Track of Reading…
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Books with Meaning
Asset Rich Books for Parents to Read With
Students
Books that are engaging
and illustrate “Support”:
«
Everything
on a Waffle,
by Polly Horvath
«
Once Upon a
Time, by Niki Daly
«
Naomi and
Mrs. Lumbago, by Gilles Tibo
«
Something
from Nothing, retold by Phoebe
Gilman
«
There’s a
Boy in the Girl’s Bathroom, by
Louis Sachar
«
Waiting for
Whales, by Sheryl McFarlane
Books that are engaging
and illustrate “Empowerment”:
«
Boxes for
Katje, by Candace Fleming
«
Caribou
Song/atihko ininkamon, by
«
The Great
Go-Cart Race, Elizabeth
Chapin-Pinotti
«
The Fishing
Summer, by Teddy Jam
«
On
«
Very Last
First Time,
by Jan Andrews
«
Ruler of the
Courtyard, by Rukhsana Khan
Books that are engaging
and illustrate “Boundaries and Expectations”:
«
Arnie and
the Skateboard Gang, by Nancy L.
Carlson
«
Don’t Let
the
«
Officer
Buckle and Gloria, by Peggy
Rathmann
«
A Promise is
a Promise, by Robert Munsch &
Michael Kusugak
«
Ramona the
«
Yang the
Youngest and His Terrible Ear, by
Lensey Namioka
Books that are engaging
and illustrate “Constructive Use of Time”:
«
Bubblegum
Delicious, by Dennis Lee
«
Hannah’s
Collections, by Marthe Jocelyn
«
Joyful
Noise: Poems for Two Voices, by
Paul Fleischman & Eric Beddows
«
Knock at a
Star: A Child’s Introduction to
Poetry, by X.J. & Dorothy M.
Kennedy
«
‘Til all the
Stars Have Fallen: A Collection of Poems for Children,
by David Booth
Books that are engaging
and illustrate a “Commitment to Learning”:
«
Aha!:
The Most Interesting Book You’ll Ever Read About Intelligence (Mysterious
You), by Trudee Romanek
«
Chin Chiang
and Dragon’s Dance by Ian Wallace
«
Frindle,
by Andrew Clements
«
Oh, The
Places You’ll Go, by Dr. Seuss
«
7 x 9 =
Trouble, by Claudia Mills
«
The Several
Lives of Orphan Jack, by Sarah
Ellis
Books that are engaging
and illustrate “Positive Values”:
«
Each Living
Thing, by Joann Ryder
«
Grandmother
Bryant’s Pocket, by Jacqueline
Briggs Martin
«
The Great
Go-Cart Race, Elizabeth Chapin-Pinotti
«
The
Incredible Journey, by Sheila
Burnford
«
Roses Sing
on New Snow: A Delicious Tale, by
Paul Yee
«
Stone Soup,
by Jon J. Muth
«
The Thumb in
the Box, by Ken Roberts
Books that are engaging
and illustrate “Social Competencies”:
«
The Final
Game, by William Roy Bownridge
«
How Smudge
Came, by
«
The Jacket,
by Andrew Clements
«
Noses are
Red, by Barbara Reed
Books that are engaging
and illustrate “Positive Identity”:
«
Anne of
Green Gables, by L.M. Montgomery
«
Bud, Not
Buddy, by Christopher Paul Curtis
«
Life on the
Farm, by Heather Gardam
«
Omar On Ice,
by Maryann Kovalski
«
«
Scooter,
by Vera B. Williams