The Integration Of Parent Involvement
I have recently begun my journey as a first-year practicum student in an elementary school. I was placed at Falls Elementary School which is a small suburban school in North Attleboro, Massachusetts. This school is only one of the five elementary schools in the district. My paper will describe the integration of the six types of parent involvement created by Joyce Epstein. I will go into detail about these six categories based off information found in the student handbook and information given from my supervisor. My supervisors name is Shelley Hardro and she is the school psychologist of Falls Elementary School. Having worked in the North Attleboro district for ten years, Shelley has a strong idea of how these six components are integrated into her school. Some of the six types of parent involvement will be found to be used strongly in the school, whereas others may not be used at all. I will reflect on what I believe could be changed to strengthen parent involvement and I will also reflect on what components of parent involvement are strong just the way they are. The six types of parent involvement that will be discussed are: parenting, communicating, volunteering, learning at home, decision making and collaborating with the community.
Parenting
Parenting is important when it comes to their child’s education. It is important for a parent to be aware of how to properly create a safe and comfortable home environment for their children as students. My supervisor, Shelley, believes that it is extremely important to have a positive relationship with the students’ parents. It is key to involve parents in their child’s education and there are many ways to do so. One thing that Falls Elementary School does to involve the parents is having guest speakers come in at different times throughout the year. The topics range from safety measures to signs of anxiety. Parents often attend these presentations to become more aware of how to make their students life at home and at school as positive and safe as possible. According to the principal, parent involvement at The Falls is stronger than she’s seen at the other schools she has worked at. These presentations cover hot topics and addresses certain measures that can be taken to assure a child’s safety. At my site there is a North Attleboro special education parent advisory council which is made up of parents, administrators and school personnel. In this council they have guest speakers come in, this calls for outreaches in community connections. Parents of children with disabilities can speak to other parents who may be able to relate to their situation, whereas other parents may not be able to understand their feelings and concerns. Since there are teachers and administrators in this council, the parents can also speak to school personal about certain topics in special education that need more attention in the school.
The combination of parents, administrators and other personnel allows strong bonds to be created and personal relationships to be strengthened. Based off this information, I think parenting in my school is strong although I think it could always be improved. A challenge of integrating parenting into the school is attempting to get all the parents involved and not just the ones who decide to attend these meetings. I suggest that a way of strengthening parenting in a school would be monthly newsletters promoting guest speaker presentations and joining councils!
Communicating
Communication is necessary especially when it comes to being a school psychologist. My supervisor makes sure to make monthly contact with parents of those students she sees often. She believes it is extremely important to update a parent on the progress or regression of their child and see what they have to say, after all they are part of the team. Parent teacher conferences occur twice a year and there is a third opportunity to meet with school personnel at open house. There is a newsletter that is sent out monthly to parents and this newsletter includes important news, events coming up and the topic of the month. This month’s topic is positive behavioral intervention supports, or PBIS. This newsletter it notifies the parents about the school-wide behavioral expectations of their children and the rewards they can receive if they earn a certain amount of tickets for showing good behavior. A great idea was that my supervisor wrote in the newsletter that she was welcoming a new practicum student and to call if they had any questions or concerns. This allowed for open communication from school-to-home and from home-to-school. I spoke with the principle and she places communication as a high priority. At the beginning of the year, the principle sends out a list of the bell schedule so that parents know where their children are.
Progress reports are also issued at the midpoint of each term so their able to track their child’s progress. A portal on their website allows parents to access grades and report cards. I believe communication at this school is strong but there can often be a lack of communication due to parents’ busy schedules. Although the school personnel works hard to keep parents involved, not every parent checks their phone or email often. This can lead to a lack of communication if they do not get the information on time.
Volunteering
Volunteering consists of gathering and organizing parents to help and support children and their education. There is a parent teacher organization, or PTO, at my school that is said to be very active. An example of something that the PTO did this past year was a frozen yogurt fundraiser on the beach. Thirty percent of the proceeds made at this fundraiser went to the school. The funds made from fundraisers go directly to the school and are then used to fund field trips and school supplies such as books. Parent involvement is encouraged, and the PTO hosts a parent social where families can go and chat with each other and form a bond that, otherwise, may not have been created. The PTO also stresses student involvement, and they run a yearly talent show to showcase students’ different abilities. They encourage students of all different backgrounds to come and show their talents no matter how different it is. There is also a program called ICARE which stands for introducing children to acceptance through reading and education. This program is made up of parent volunteers who will come in and read books based on certain disabilities to create acceptance and raise awareness. This program is huge for this school and it makes me happy to see that parents are voluntarily teaching students that people aren’t defined by their labels. This was what I believed to be the strongest of the six types of parent involvement. All these different programs allow for different opportunities for parents to be involved and they are all for great causes. Shelley noted that one downfall is that you often see the same parents volunteering due to busy schedules.
Learning at Home
Learning at home allows parents to help students learn outside of the school environment. The student handbook encourages that parents assist their child in completing their homework. This is important because we do not want children to think education is limited to the classroom and that their teachers are their only source of help. A link on the school’s website will lead to family activities found on discovery education such as fun ways to learn math, typing games, etc. Every teacher at Falls has their own website where parents can find links to websites that cover the topics learned in school. If a parent is concerned that their child will put education to the side once the school year comes to an end, the teacher will provide them a summer calendar with work that can be done at home. The summer learning calendar and packets aren’t limited to general curriculum teachers, but the occupational therapists and speech therapists will do the same if requested. Learning at home is a strength of Falls school and the way they promote it is easily accessible to parents.
Decision Making
Parents should always be involved in making decisions that could potentially affect their child. Like I mentioned previously, the PTO is very active and involved in their child’s school environment. Another way the parents are involved is through a district wide school council. The school council is made up of parents, principals and teachers that come together and look at the curriculum and things that may need tweaking. It’s a school committee at the town level and everyone is invited to attend. They discuss hot topics like budget deficits. This allows parents to have a say in decisions made at the school-wide level. I think this is a great thing to have but Shelley thinks they could do a better job at promoting these meetings, so every parent has a chance to attend.
Collaborating with the Community
The last principle of parent involvement consists of promoting resources to the community to promote participation in the community. Summer programs such as the YMCA and parks and recreation are made affordable to encourage students to participate. Some of the activities include softball leagues and drama club. The school has a great connection with these programs and often my supervisor will recommend trying an activity outside of school to promote social skills. I think that this is the weakest principle found at Falls Elementary as there is very little opportunity for community collaboration. One thing they could do to integrate this principle into the school is promote things other than recreational programs such as social support programs!
Throughout my research of the integration of the six principles of parent involvement at the Falls Elementary School I have concluded that parent involvement is moderately strong. Although there is always room for improvement the school personnel is on the right track when it comes to creating positive relationships with the parents of their students. They put a high priority on developing professional skills needed to teach, consult and assist students and their families.
