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Private schools on the North Shore put a heavy emphasis on partnering with parents to provide the best education and get optimum outcomes for their students.

BY MITCH HURST THE NORTH SHORE WEEKEND

Research shows the children of parents who are actively involved in their children’s education have a much better chance of success in school. A recent study conducted by the American Psychological Association found that not only do strong partnerships between parents and schools improve academic performance, but they also have a positive impact on social and emotional learning.

For this week’s special private schools issue of The North Shore Weekend , we surveyed school administrators on the North Shore and asked them to share their own strategies for ensuring those valuable parent and family partnerships.

Alex Sheridan, Director of Enrollment, Marketing, and Financial Aid at Lake Forest Country Day School (LFCDS), says parent partnership is really the foundation for a child's learning. He tells every family he meets that everything that happens at school is only as good as what's getting reinforced at home and vice versa.

“We want to be sure that we can support a student and provide them a meaningful learning experience,” Sheridan says. “We want to be sure that the spirit of partnership is there because the relationship we have with families during the time their kid is in school is paramount.”

LFCDS had built a strong culture of communication, being responsive and timely, and being thoughtful, Sheridan says. The school is lucky to only have 15 kids in its classrooms, which means teachers can put a lot of time into attention, not only into the kids but into their parents.

“When families come in it's something that will become clear to them as they're going through their journey,” says Sheridan. “The argument we're laying forth for families is when your kids are coming through LFCDS, your role is central.”

At Lake Forest Academy (LFA), which educates students grades 9 through 12, about 50 percent of the students are boarding students and 25 percent are international, coming from as far as Asia. Logistically, this requires that the school take a unique approach to ensure parents stay involved in their child’s education.

Carolyn Gorowski, LFA’s Dean of Admission, says partnerships with parents and families is part of the school’s environment. LFA has a number of programs in place to ensure parents stay involved. Parents of local students who are new to the school are paired with a parent of a current student, a Parent Ambassador.

“It’s really helpful just to answer some of the initial questions. I think with the anxiety of starting in a new environment, they really help in that transition,” Gorowski says. “When new families are on campus, they will also connect with a Faculty Advisor, who will be the family’s point of contact throughout their high schoolers time at LFA.”

For boarding students, LFA utilizes technology keep parents connected to the school and to their child’s education. The school utilizes both video conferencing and in-person meetings with parents who are out of state or out of the country. It also streams athletic events so parents can watch their child participate in sports.

“We had our family weekend a few weeks ago and a number of events on campus, but we also had some virtual events just to make sure that we're able to stay connected with parents who can't always come to campus for everything,” says Gorowski.

Woodlands Academy of the Society of the Sacred Heart in Lake Forest draws on its religious traditions to shape its philosophy about parental inclusion in a child’s education, says Christine Schmidt, Associate Head of School at Woodlands.

“Madeleine Sophie Barat was foundress of the Society of the Sacred Heart, and she believed the vision of education is at its core relational. At our freshman parent orientation, we invite the parents to partner with us as we support their student throughout their high school years,” Schmidt says. “The parent community is always invited to the school masses, speaker series events, and we encourage them to participate in the events sponsored by our local community organization.”

This coming week, Woodlands sophomores will receive their Mater medals signifying their continued growth as a member of the Sacred Heart community, and their parents are invited to the mass and the parent reception. A similar type of activity takes place annually for each class. This includes the senior breakfast, the junior ring ceremony, and the new student welcome prayer service. Parents also enjoy monthly coffees at the school and an annual fundraiser, Conge.

“Each student is assigned an advisor for their four years of high school and that advisor is also a point person for the parents to contact if needed,” says Schmidt. “Parents have access to their student’s grades, weekly teacher comments, and our school calendar through our student data system portal. We also hold virtual parent/ teacher conferences so that we can accommodate our parent’s schedule, as well as our international parents.”

Jodi Reuter, Principal at Sacred Heart School (SHS) in Winnetka, says Sacred Heart has always encouraged parent engagement on many levels.

“Members of this school community are dedicated to enriching and educating the hearts and minds of students from three years old through 8th grade,” Reuters says. “We proudly believe that our time together matters and that we are one, big family.”

SHS offers many special programs and traditions that parents are invited to throughout the year that showcase what the students learn and how it benefits them (socially, emotionally, physically, and spiritually).

“It can be the sacraments in 2nd and 8th grades, Prayer Families, Open Houses, classroom parties, sports, fine arts, fundraisers for the whole school, or outside events that bring the whole community together,” she says.

For the most part schools and parents want the same outcomes for their kids, and ideally should work together with the aim of creating leaders, and to be kind and gracious to other kids, says Tom Meagher, Principal of the School of Saints Faith Hope & Charity in Winnetka, “In the Catholic sense we’re following love one another as you would yourself. Then we also want the students to do service and do well in school,” Meagher says. “We feel we can do that quite well when we team with our parents because then the kids learn and understand that school and parents are on the same page.”

An active Parents Association is one of the keys to maintaining strong partnerships with parents at North Shore Country Day (NCCDS). Tom Flemma, Head of School at NSCDS, says the Parent's Association is engaged at every level of the school. “Parents collaborate with teachers and administrators to facilitate communication, build strong connections within the parent community, and offer educational opportunities for parents,” Flemma says. “Several times a year we will bring speakers that work with both teachers and parents on a range of topics.”

Topics have included how the adolescent brain works, what the impact of social media is on learning and wellness, and how parents can best support kids in a rapidly changing world.

“We believe that helping to answer those questions for parents leads to better educational and social-emotional outcomes for kids, says Flemma. “To me, all of this is more important now than ever. I'm not sure there has ever been a harder time to be a parent and we believe that strong partnerships with parents is one of the best tools we have at NSCDS to educate kids.”