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I am currently a pre-service teacher and have been receiving a lot of teaching on the importance  of parent involvement. In situations where you feel as if the parent(s) do not have much to do with their child’s education, what strategies have you seen work successfully to get them involved? Thank you

Hi Ryan! I am also a pre-service teacher and I'm placed at a school that tries really hard to involve parents in the school lives of their students. Some examples of this that I've seen so far are the usual, parent chaparones for field trips, bringing in snacks for birthdays, or room parents/parent donations. I've also seen the school and teachers ask for parent volunteers to help with Fun Fairs so the parents are able to see their children in a different context.

As for science related volunteers, my mentor teacher had actually asked parents to help with a STEM project called the Cardboard Challenge. Every Tuesday and Wednesday at the end of the day for a few weeks, parents would sign up to help the students plan and build their projects. At the end of the project, all of the parents were invited into the classroom to play and interact with the students' projects. 

I think an important aspect to getting parents involved is by effectively communicating with them and constantly giving them opportunities to be involved even when the involvement levels are low. Also, keep in mind the form of communication is important. Some parents prefer communicating through digital platforms such as the ClassDojo app, class websites, emails, etc. While others may prefer being notified through communication folders with paper reminders. It's very important to keep in mind that many parents are busy with work or other commitments especially if there are siblings involved! 

Hi Ryan!

   I am currently a junior at Radford University and am studying elementary education. Even though I am a student myself, I have been involved with the schools system for many years through internships, volunteering, and jobs. I have heard many teachers say how hard it is to get parents involved in their classroom. My mom is a teacher and one thing that she does is 'meet the teacher day'. It's separate from back to school night and it gives parents a chance to interact with their child's teacher and get to know them on a personal level. This helps the parents break barriers down tha they may have in order to have involvement. I have not had this issue because I am not a teacher myself, but I know that parent involvement is an issue in my county along with it's surrounding areas. 

Hi Ryan!

I think that parent involvement is an very important part of a student's success. I think the first thing to do would be to have string communication between you and the parent. I also think that having meetings with them throughout the school year is a great way to keep them updated on how their child is doing in the classroom. Having opportunities to have them come into the classroom is also a great way to get them involved. You can do this with classroom parties and even field trips are a great way to have them interact! Sending homework home with the student that involves them asking their parents questions or projects that require a parent's help is also a great way to see the parents participating with their child!

Hi Abby! 

I love the idea of parent involvement, I believe this is one of the many crucial necessities to ensure a student's educational success. I believe that communication is key, making sure that parents always know what is happening in the classroom, and that they are receiving constant feedback on the student's educational process. I believe that it is the educator's job to establish with the parents what would be the best form of communication, as some parents would prefer an email rather than a phone call or in-person meeting or vice-versa. 

Best of luck! 

Hello!

I believe parent involvement is a critical component in a child's education. Many strategies to increase parent participation are suggested. The first strategy is to send weekly emails of what the students are learning and expected tasks to complete. Make sure parents sign off on homework. The school community should make parents comfortable in participating by inviting and accepting all cultures and backgrounds. Having cultural celebration events at school can welcome the parents and diversity in the community. However, when planning these events, be certain that misconceptions of one's culture are not present at the event. Being well informed and doing research are the most important things to consider before hosting these events. 

Hello, 

I have also been recieving a lot of instruction in increasing parent involvement within the classroom. We all know that parent involvement is essential for student success, but I am struggling on how to involve parents that are already very busy and also don't speak English. One thing that my mentor teacher did to promote parent involvement was to put together small opportunities for the family to spend time together such as family yoga night. Even though it is not academic, it is crucial to give parents and students meaningful opportunities to connect with the teacher. Another thing that I think is essential is invorporating a communication mean with the parent and share with them highlights about their students so that they know that you are there to support their student. 

Good luck, 

Dani

Learning doesn’t end in the classroom, yet most parents are at a loss when it comes to supporting their children’s intellectual development. Many try to do too well and hover around them when they do homework, which can stifle creativity and self-development. Others let them roam free and hardly monitor their progress. For teachers, involving parents boosts positive self-perception and job satisfaction. The challenge is to help them understand how they can help their child succeed. Here are three strategies to involve parents in children’s education. Provide information and ideas about how to best assist with homework and other curriculum-related activities. Encourage reading at home by creating a custom reading list based on the child’s personality, interests, and level.

Family involvement is a huge component of teaching.  The first question is for you and your school to ask is what are the goals of the involvement?  Is it to give families more of a voice about life at school?  Is it to have them help their children academically outside of school?  Is it for the families to provide resources for classroom explorations?  Once you have identified the goals, then you can start looking at strategies, bearing in mind that involvement to you may look different than it does to the families.  Finding out how and when the families want communication is a huge factor also.  Asking them if there are barriers, such as transportation, schedules, etc.  All of this leads to developing a strong relationship with your families, with lots of honest and positive communication.  Even if the communciation starts as mostly one sided, it provides a positive window into the child's world at school

All of the above sounds vague, but is a necessary step.  At my school, we decided we wanted the parents to work on both social emotional skills as well as cognitive.  We use the Pyramid model, so can easily send out their backpack conenctions to work with social emotional.  For the cognitive, in each weekly story, we include a family activity tied to what is going on in the classroom.  We regualrly ask families if we could be reaching them / including them in better ways.  This has led to a variety of family events through the year, some scheduled when school opens, others during traditional lunch time, others after school with babysitting provided.

After the 'big' events such as those above, I have found that most families then feel as if they are a part of their child's school life and ask for additional ways to become involved.

Even if the families don't ask or seem invovled, listen to what your students are saying, and take heart.  Everyone has crazy times and can't always do what they want as far as involvement.  But they always appreciate and remember a welcome!

Anne

Also, check to see if you local library system offers the museum passes.  That can be a low cost way for families to visit local discovery centers, planetariums and other museum like settings!

Anne

Hello, Im a senior at college studying to become a Bilingual teacher. Because of the required field hours I have had the opportunity to work with elementary teachers that said it is very hard to get parents involved in their child's education. I believe it is very important to have parents involved in school so they know how their child is doing as well as their progress throughout the year. One way teachers can get parents involved is having 'meet the teacher night' at the beginning of the year and talk about the expectations as well as projects the students are going to be doing. Teachers can meet with parents twice or more times each semester as necessary to show students work and talk about their progress. 

I am also a preservice teacher. This topic is one I have thought about during the times I have been present in the classroom. One of my mentor teachers keeps the parents of her students involved in the classroom by bringing one in each week to share a little about their lives. I love that idea because it gives students ideas on what future careers and aspirations they might have. Another way she keeps the parents involved is sending weekly newsletters and inviting them into her room whenever there are events going on.

For the teachers and parents that see this post, what are different ways you have encountered to keep parents involved? Are there things you have experienced and seen that you have not been a fan of regarding this topic?

As a pre-service teacher myself, I have also been learning about the importance of parent/family involvement. I think when parents think of involvement, they usually just think about coming into the classroom to volunteer, but it is honestly so much more than that. Family involvement is important because it helps to continue the students’ education even outside the classroom. Communication is key to family involvement and one way you could do this is by sending out a newsletter. In your newsletters, you can inform families what is happening in the classroom and you can provide them with resources to help continue the learning at home. Of course, it is also important to be inviting families into the classroom, but understand that it isn’t always feasible to come in.