When I was in the classroom, I shared this poem with my parents every Open House. It reminded us of the honor and responsibility we had to work together for our children.
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Conference season is here! I took a look back at a conference post I wrote last year, and still love these tips, so please check them out here!
I also did a parent engagement workshop last weekend and we talked about the value of student-led conferences. Here are some charts that the teachers made to get you thinking about it as well! While your school might not be implementing student-led conferences, it's something that you might consider trying with a few of your students, as there are many benefits! I came across this blog post, and I loved it.
This week's challenge: Make a parent's (and their child's!) day by contacting them and giving them simply GREAT news about their child. Two weeks ago, my 5 year old son Daniel started Kindergarten. I can't even express what I felt that first day... the pride, excitement, and sense of anxiety over letting my baby boy head into this big boy school where he was expected to do big kid things was overwhelming. Over the course of my 12 years as a teacher, I'd had my share of daunting first days, and while I always paid careful attention to how my students were feeling as they walked through my doors, I never once considered what their parents must have been feeling. My son's teacher, Mrs. Chang, gently encouraged us at Orientation to give our child a "big hug at the door every morning, and then release." Release them into her classrooms, into her care. With a reminder to Daniel to be kind and respectful, and to have a great day of learning, that's what I've been doing. And it's getting easier and easier, especially when I hear these things from Daniel at the end of the day (and this was all just today!): "Mommy, guess what's going to happen that I'm REALLY excited about... but it's not going to be for a while because we're only on day 7... we're going to have a 100 day of school party!!" "Mrs. Chang read a book today about 3 sisters and how they're all special!" "Mrs. Chang said that EVERYONE is special. Special in the way they look and how they act and how they are... and I told everyone that I'm special because I can DANCE!" "Mrs. Chang wrote a star for me and gave me a happy face because I remembered on my own to tell her I was going to have school lunch!" "I learned how to spell "we!" W-E! "I wore my glasses all day today. I love my glasses. And Mrs. Chang thinks it's really neat that they get darker in the sun!" "I am thankful that I finished my Brown Bear Brown Bear book today!" "How much do you like Noelani if the highest is 120? I say 120!" Yes, he did say all of these statements in explanation points!!! And then this... we were eating dinner and talking and then Daniel raised his hand (which he had never done before at home!) and said, "Tomorrow can we sit Daddy Gracie Daniel Mommy so that we can sit in a boy girl boy girl pattern?" Daniel is energized by school the way that I had dreamt he would be and for that, I am unbelievably grateful. Mrs. Chang has become not only a part of our dinner conversations, but has quickly become one of the most important people in Daniel's life. I share this story with you because I want you to know that as teachers, you are golden not only to the children in front of you, but to the parents they go home to. Those parents give you their greatest gift, and you return them home even better. Those parents trust you to do things for their child that they're not able to do- teach them to read and write, give them opportunities to think deeper and collaborate with their peers, and help them become more worldly, more giving, and more compassionate as they grow and learn from you and the children in your class. Bring parents along in your journey this year and you'll find that the results are beyond powerful. This year, I'll be sharing resources here to help you engage with your families. Here's a resource that you'll want to bookmark, created by a few College of Education professors at UH Manoa who are knowledgeable and passionate about family school partnerships: https://affect.coe.hawaii.edu/ Lastly... that picture up at the top is what Daniel brought home on his first day of school. They had read The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn and then talked about how their parents might be missing them. Daniel was excited that Mrs. Chang painted his hand so he could make his handprint, and he told me that when I was lonely I could press my hand to his and I would feel "warm with his love." The gift hangs in our home and is a reminder not only of Daniel's love, but of how Mrs. Chang was thinking of us that first day, too, and reaching out her hand to include us in what will undoubtably be a very special year.
Check out these tools to improve communication between schools and parents! Great ideas on how to use technology to connect with our parents!
This article titled, "Sharing Data to Create Stronger Parent Partnerships" really struck a chord with me. It reinforced my belief that strong family support is key in helping students succeed. "Informed and engaged parents have a better chance of helping their kids at home." Absolutely.
The article talks about the type of data to share and the most efficient ways to communicate what that data means. The information is really valuable in preparing for any type of parent teacher conference- take a look! When I was a classroom teacher, the relationships and communication I had with my students' parents were crucial to the success of my students. When parents know that you know their child, that you really "get" their child and that you care about their well being (social, emotional, and academic), they will be on your side forever. More than that, their child will understand that the most influential adults in their lives are on the same team- and they'll start fighting for the same thing you're fighting for- their own growth and success.
Here's this week's Valentine's Day challenge: Call or send the parent of one of your most "challenging" students a purely POSITIVE "love note." It doesn't have to be long, or eloquent... just be sincere. What is something you see in their child that you love? Did he make you laugh today? Did she work through a tough math problem? Did he help another student? Did she say something that made you stop and think? Share it! And before you send that note home or make that call, be sure to call over your student and share it with him/her first. I used to have the student stand next to me and look over my shoulder as I wrote their parent a quick e-mail sharing good news. Talk about guaranteeing wonderful behavior for the rest of the day! Share your results here (keep the students anonymous)- how did it make your chosen student and his/her parents feel? How did it make you feel? Here are more resources for building relationships with parents! 20 Tips for Developing Positive Relationships with Parents 8 Tips for Reaching out to Parents We're coming up on the end of second quarter and that means REPORT CARD time. And this is something new for many of you- report card comments.
I always thought that writing report card comments was more difficult than preparing for parent-teacher conferences. I savored the time talking with parents and sharing stories about both their child's academic strengths and areas to grow in and the stories that showed how much I knew about and valued their child's other gifts. It's hard to capture all that a child brings to your classhome in that little report card comment space, but as a parent, I know that that's so much of what they care about. Be as specific as you can about each student's successes and areas to work on and why, and also try to incorporate a line or two about the unique way that they add beauty and value to your class. A few of those sincere words could make all the difference. Here are a few websites you can refer to for some helpful comment stems! 101 Report Card Comments to Use Now Report Card Comments from Lakeshore Learning 100 Report Card Comments from Education World Teacher Vision Report Card Comment Ideas I stumbled across this article and love this list- it's what I use myself with my 4 year old on the car drive home from preschool. His answers make me laugh, wonder, connect with his school experience, and often fill me with pride.
When I was in the classroom, I had parents tell me that when they asked their children, "What'd you learn in school today?" a common response would be a generic, "math..." "we read..." etc. I'd cringe. Why didn't they tell them about the brilliant math strategy they shared, the way we philosophied over our novel, or the thoughtful hypothesis they'd made in science? As we know as teachers, it all comes down to the question we ask. Let's help our parents ask those thought provoking questions, too, by sharing this with them! Click here for an amazing list of resources from Edutopia:
"Experts agree that parent involvement in education is one of the biggest predictors of student success. So where can parents begin? We've compiled a list of articles, videos, and other resources to help you engage productively with your kids' teachers and school." -Edutopia |