Problem of Practice- Parental Involvement
During my internship, I had the opportunity to focus on one key area of my school that I completed my principal residency. After discussing many issues with the parental involvement committee and parents of the school, it became clear to me that there was an issue between parent-teacher relationships. I decided to address these issues through discussion, observations, surveys, and creating sustainable events. We also used social media as a means to help keep parents in the loop on school activities and also focused on staff being clear on how parents can help students grow.
As I researched this topic, I learned many things about the importance of communication. I learned that both sides, parents and teachers, ASSUMED things about the other. This mindset is dangerous because it can affect the relationship between both sides and hinder it from growing. When we started to reach out to parents, we found that assumptions we made were wrong. Over 78% of parents said that work kept them from being involved. We held some night activities to accommodate that issue. Over 48% of parents said transportation was an issue. We held community events off campus to help here. In every event we had, relationships got stronger. Meaningful conversations took place. Another thing I realized was that no matter what we as educators may feel, we must take the first step to develop these relationships. We are the ones that know what we would like to see from parents, so we must convey that message to the parents. Knowing WHY and WHAT we need from parents is vital to parents feeling valued and important in the educational development of their children.
What came out of this research was sustainable school events and growth in parental involvement. Our students benefited from all of this and were supported in their learning. Below is representation of my research, results, and steps going forward.
As I researched this topic, I learned many things about the importance of communication. I learned that both sides, parents and teachers, ASSUMED things about the other. This mindset is dangerous because it can affect the relationship between both sides and hinder it from growing. When we started to reach out to parents, we found that assumptions we made were wrong. Over 78% of parents said that work kept them from being involved. We held some night activities to accommodate that issue. Over 48% of parents said transportation was an issue. We held community events off campus to help here. In every event we had, relationships got stronger. Meaningful conversations took place. Another thing I realized was that no matter what we as educators may feel, we must take the first step to develop these relationships. We are the ones that know what we would like to see from parents, so we must convey that message to the parents. Knowing WHY and WHAT we need from parents is vital to parents feeling valued and important in the educational development of their children.
What came out of this research was sustainable school events and growth in parental involvement. Our students benefited from all of this and were supported in their learning. Below is representation of my research, results, and steps going forward.