MaryAnne Stargel

ED 504-06

Family Involvement – Principle 10

28 July 2003

Developing a Strategy to Involve Families

•  What does your school hope to accomplish through broader family participation and support? Be specific and frank.

*A more positive learning environment

*More parental/family involvement in the positive moments

*Improved student behavior in and out of class

*A drastic decrease in bullying instances

  *A drastic decrease in bully acceptance instances

  *Increased involvement in academic areas

•  Specifically, who are the people you wish to involve?

*Teachers

*Parents/families

*Students

*All school staff

•  Take a close look at your school, at the specific audience you are trying to reach. What do you see as obstacles in school/community and specifically among your desired audience to the type of involvement you are seeking? List these.

*Lack of parental/family concern / involvement

*High rates of drug / alcohol abuse by parents/family

*High unemployment

*High % of at-risk students

*High rate of adult illiteracy

*High rate of Bullying mentality and actions

•  For each of the obstacles identifies, list ways to overcome them.

*Lack of parental/family concern/involvement = More parental contact, bring them up to date with curriculum and specific units of study. Make more personal contacts with parents when good things happen. Invite the parents to take part in different activities in the class. Host FAMILY NIGHT OUT and provide a free dinner that comes after family / group games. During dinner, teachers and staff eat with the families and begin positive interactions and creating a more open atmosphere of communication.

*High rates of drug… = AA / Drug awareness programs / more accountability / tougher consequences (in-school not out of school, because out of school is like a vacation for these kids with no parents at home during day)

*High unemployment / Welfare = have information available at the school for contacts to make and where to learn more about retraining / job searches

*High % of at-risk kids = identify the factors that create the title for each student (in advisory / teams) begin to work on those factors and help the student learn coping / survival and achievement skills. Provide a safe environment: before, during, and after school hours if needed and funds are available.

*High rate of adult illiteracy = provide and encourage adult literacy classes, make more phone calls home instead of notes, encourage students to read to their parents (as practice for the students and it also gets the parent involved with the child)

*High rate of Bullying mentality and actions = have all staff attend anti-bully training, train leaders within school with same tactics (anti-bully), have very stiff in school consequences, notify families that this type of behavior is not accepted nor permitted at schools (most will try to help), identify bullies and victims and address them (separately – preferably with a counselor at some stage), giving victims and bullies ways to stop the behavior and deal with it – includes addressing self-esteem issues.

•  List one or more strategies for motivating various individuals to broader participation and support.

What: Parent / Family workshop (with free dinner after attendance at one of the sessions) workshop sessions topics can include: Middler Development, Homework Help Skills, Test-taking skills, Study skills/habits, Bettering Your Middler’s Self-Esteem, Understanding forms sent home.

    During this, give examples of family involvement and the option for family members to talk with the teachers about possible classroom involvement.

When : One the week before school, possibly one at 1st quarter break, one at semester, and one towards the end of 4 th quarter that is geared towards preparing for summer (to continue learning) and to help prepare parents to help their students transition into the next year.

Where: At the school, in the classrooms and the lunchroom (dinner and presentation)

Who : Teachers, principals, school staff, outside resources such as counselors and social/caseworkers, students, and families (Great teacher involvement to show the parents that we really care about their student and that we value the families contribution)

Why: To bring the families in and create a more fluent avenue of communication and understanding between families and teachers / school staff. This will give the teachers a chance to help the families understand what is going on in school and help provide ways to improve the student’s education.

Reflection : I know, that in the school I have been in, it will take a couple of workshops before the majority of families by into the idea. The staff will have to keep up positive attitudes about them and keep them going and they will catch on (just like the family nights out) It will also be important to survey the parents about possible topics they would like seen addressed at a session.

Tracey Feight

Adolescent Development 505- 06

Family Involvement Strategy

Developing a Strategy to Involve Families

•  Our school hopes to educate parents about their roles in the success of their child’s education. There are many ways in which parents can advocate for their children and support them academically, socially and emotionally. It is our goal to further educate parents so they can play a lead role in their child’s education.

•  I would like to target parents of students with special learning needs. I would also like general education classroom teachers to participate so that they understand what supports are available to families and students.

•  Most of the parents that have students with learning differences may have learning differences themselves. They often struggle with reading material that is sent out by the school and have difficulty understanding “teacher lingo, and higher vocabulary words. These parents feel inadequate questioning school staff and feel that their thoughts and opinions are unnecessary because the school staff are experts” where their child’s education is concerned. Parents often feel intimidated by a large team of school personnel gathered together to discuss their child’s strengths and weaknesses.

•  1. Education professionals should assume that all parents need assistance with explanations of achievement levels, standardized testing scores, programs available to further enhance their child’s education, etc. This can take place through a yearly parent information night that is offered each year for interested parents. The idea of an information night takes away some of the stress a parent may feel by having their child’s specific information discussed amongst a team of educators. This type of presentation also allows parents the chance to ask questions of school personnel. School personnel can also ensure during their presentation the importance and valuable role that parents play in their child’s education is conveyed.

•  Parent participation can be broadened by;

Informing parents of support programs available

Informing them of their parent rights

Providing a parent training night for working with struggling students in the areas of reading, math or written language.

Providing mini- workshops for parenting children with behavior issues.

The following program proposal is intended for a parent information night to be held in the fall of any given school year.

Who: The parent information night is designed for parents of students attending any elementary or middle school who have academic or behavioral concerns about their child, children on a 504 accommodation plan or an Individualized Education Plan. General education teachers at will also be invited to attend.

What: A parent information night designed to inform parents of special education laws, special education processes for identifying students with special needs, steps involved in designing an Individualized Education Plan and parent supports available in the community.

Where: The information night will take place at any school in the library, cafeteria or multipurpose room

When: The information night will take place at the beginning of the school year, possibly October on a Wednesday or Thursday night.

Why: Many parents do not know how to obtain academic testing or supports for their students. Most of the time they must wait for a teacher to realize their child is failing before a support service referral can be made. Special education processes and paper work are explained to parents within a thirty-minute meeting. Goals and objectives are also discussed at these meetings. It is the feeling of many staff members that parents leave these meetings not fully understanding what was discussed at the meeting. A parent information night will provide parents with an opportunity to hear more detailed information and ask questions regarding special education processes.

How: The information night will take place for approximate one hour. The school counselor, psychologist, resource teacher and principal will all be speakers. The principal will welcome parents and families and provide an introduction to the meeting and the topics (objectives) that will be covered throughout the evening. Information will be presented by the resource teacher, on the Student Assistance Team and Multidisciplinary Team processes. The school psychologist will explain in simple language special education rights as well as ability testing. The resource teacher will explain academic testing as well as how results are interpreted. The school counselor will present 504 accommodation plans and how they are used. A parent from the community who is active in Idaho Parents Unlimited will present information on resources that are available for families.

•  It may be possible to obtain high school student volunteers to provide activities and childcare in one or more classrooms while parents are attending. We would also need to have the support of PTO and have a few parent volunteers for liability purposes

•  Cookies and refreshments would also be provided for parents and any children attending. The money for this could come from the school’s general fund as well as possible special education.

Family Information Night

Our Goal: To inform families of the processes involved in identifying and providing special services for students.

•  #1: Enhance the effectiveness of the school’s special services program.

•  #2: Families will gain knowledge of the steps taken by their child’s teacher and steps they can take before their child is referred for testing. (student assistance team process)

•  #3: Families will gain knowledge about standardized ability testing and interpretation of test results.

•  #4: Families will become aware of standardized achievement testing and interpretation of test results.

•  #5: Families will develop an understanding of what a 504 plan is and how it is implemented.

•  # 6: Families will be informed of various exceptionalities in which special education services.

•  #7: Families will gain knowledge of parent support groups that are available in the local community.

•  Family Information Night

•  Our Goal: To inform families of the processes involved in identifying and providing special services for students.

•  #1: What interventions has my child’s teacher tried with my child? (Role-play of the Student Assistance Team process).

•  The Child Study Team

•  (Child Study Team role play)

•  #2: What do they mean, ability testing? (Test descriptions and interpretation of the scores.)

•  #3: Is my child progressing academically with his/her grade level peers? (Achievement testing and interpretation of the scores.)

•  Identification for special services

•  #4: My child qualifies for a 504 plan? (Description and implementation of a 504 plan)

•  #5: What is special education and whom does it serve? (Description of special education programs and various populations it services)

•  #6: Where can I get more information about special education?

* The above checklist has space under each topic so parents may take notes.

Reflection

For this program proposal to become a reality I am going to need the support of my building administrator, school psychologist, school counselor, special education teacher, special education director as well as general education teachers, parent teacher organization and possibly the district superintendent.

  I feel that an information night on this topic is just one of many topics that need to be explained to parents other than in a 20-30 minute meeting or a 10 minute parent/teacher conference. After writing up the plan for this parent information night I have decided that it may take a few evenings spread out over a few weeks. I also think that sending out a parent survey might help get ideas for what parents really want to know especially where their child’s education is concerned.

I chose standardized testing and test scores as well as support services due to the heavy emphasis on standards and the question that is popping up more and more often, "what if my child is not achieving at the set grade level standards”? I don’t feel that there has been enough information given to parent at this point regarding achievement standards. That is another area my district needs to work on and make sure parents get adequate information.

  This coming school year will be my first year working at the middle level. At the primary level I know that during the next school year, teachers and parents will be working together to develop parent information nights to teach families math games and strategies for helping their youngsters achieve in math. I plan to attend these math nights myself. Personally I feel that there are great ideas and programs that are often implemented at the primary level that can be implemented in upper grades as well.

  This coming year will be an adventure for me as I embark on a new journey. I am hanging up my special education hat after 5 years of teaching at the primary level. Now as you know that statement is not completely true for I will encounter students with special learning styles and behavior patterns throughout my career. Although I may not be in the lead role of presenting the proposed parent education night I can still play a significant part and advocate that it is necessary in enhancing our partnerships with parents and the community.

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