Module 4�An Ethos of Good Faith
Lesson 2:
Making Your School Accessible to Parents
Activity
2.1
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How can educators make the school more accessible to parents? Here are a few tips.
1. Make parents feel welcome by greeting them as soon as they come in. Make this a responsibility of all staff, not just the secretaries.
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2. If a parent calls the school for an appointment, make sure that the appointment is scheduled immediately if possible. If not, make sure to call back with an appointment time in a timely fashion. Let parents know that the staff is as anxious to resolve the problem as they are.
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3. Hold regular school tours for parents to allow them to visit all the areas of the school and allow them to ask questions about areas and programs. Advertise the tours in school newsletters.
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4. Invite parents to the school often for a variety of reasons. For example, they might be invited to classes to talk about their own careers, to join children for parent–student luncheons, to read their favourite book to a child or small group of children, to watch a student performance, and so on.
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5. Consider school volunteer programs. Give parents the opportunity to help with remedial reading, field trips, library work and any other aspect where parental help would be an asset to the school. Keep track of total volunteer hours for the school and report the results back to the parents. This is a positive way to let the community know that parents are active and appreciated in the school.
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6. Invite parent representatives to the school for informal discussions on classroom activities and upcoming events, or host a once-a-month muffin breakfast to discuss the classroom calendar of events. It is a good opportunity to let parents know what the children will be covering and what the adults can do to maximize the learning opportunities for children.
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7. Run workshops for parents on a variety of topics that will help them help the children be successful in school. Send parents who work, or can’t attend for other reasons, a take-home bag or kit containing information provided at the workshop. Involve parents in the planning of the workshops.
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8. Make frequent phone calls home for positive reasons. If a teacher has called many times with good news or positive messages about a child, when a concern does arise, it is less likely to be addressed with hostility and anger.
Homework
Read Alfie Kohn’s article
“The Truth About Homework”
(Education Week, September 6, 2006)
Available online at www.alfiekohn.org/articles.htm
Homework
STOP | START | CONTINUE |
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What should you STOP, START, CONTINUE?
Debrief
Which practices or ideas discussed in this lesson today will reduce the potential for conflict in the school?