Bringing Parents to the Table

How often do parents read about behavior in the classroom being beyond disruptive and that PARENTS are to blame? What about the harsh criticism we receive about not helping with homework and carrying the guilt and shame of our kids’ poor academic performance? 

It’s puzzling that parents carry these stressors with us each and every school year, but rarely are parents brought to the table when schools are making important decisions. How often are parents consulted about the help that's needed with struggling school intervention and behavior programs? Parents can be a school's biggest resource with the assistance teachers need with classroom management. 

Instead of proceeding without parents, I’d like to see THREE changes made to our school systems that think outside the box when it comes to MEANINGFUL parent engagement.

1. Set aside funding that...

...allows 1-2 parents per grade level to be included in all literacy and numeracy professional development.

❤Several inner-city teachers are on emergency certificates or have been teaching for 3 years or less. Though their intentions are good, the undeveloped pedagogies don’t allow most of these teachers time to learn new techniques (sound blending, phonemic awareness, dictation, etc). Instead of school districts working in isolation, parents need to be taught these new techniques as well so that we can reinforce these efforts at home.

2. Set aside funding for...

...a free parent-based subscription to all benchmark testing programs that our kids' schools are using.

❤ Giving parents a free account to access our kids' beginning-of- the year, middle-of-the year, and end- of -the year benchmark goals and results empowers parents with information we need to make important school choice decisions, gauge overall school growth, and monitor peer achievement in real-time. Some administrators do a great job, however a lot of instructional time is lost when parents have to wait for this information to be disseminated and explained. Schools give parents paper copies, but this barrier makes it impossible to easily access digital feedback and resources attached to our children's personal performance.

3. Set aside funding to...

...employ a dedicated parent liaison to be staffed at every school site. This person should be a qualified "PARENT" whose child attends the school.

❤So often administrators and educators believe that because they too are parents, all of their decisions are made with the interest of parents in mind. Unfortunately, that is not always the case. Too often parents are left discouraged and frustrated because of a lack of quality communication and missed opportunities to be heard. In order for parents to be provided meaningful and continuous engagement, there must be a dedicated, family liaison staffed on site who operates from the lenses of parents' perspective.

Final Thoughts

Our schools are in crisis. Our kids are suffering. When will our educational systems accept that parents are the boots on the ground and begin to collaborate WITH us? Without meaningful parent engagement, our schools are doomed.