Running head: FAMILY INVOLVEMENT PLAN
Katherine Brou Family Involvement Plan HUEC 3382, Section 1 Dr. Michele Fillastre December 1, 2009
1
2
Family Involvement Plan Introduction Having families involved in a child’s education is one of the best ways a teacher can help a child in her classroom succeed throughout the rest of their lives. As Brewer states, “when parents are involved in their children’s schooling, children achieve higher grades, have better school attendance, have more positive attitudes and behaviors, graduate from high school at a higher rate, and are more likely to enroll in higher education” (Brewer, 2007, p. 238). This statement clearly shows the importance of family involvement in a child’s education. When trying to be the best teacher I can be my job will include trying to engage parents or caregivers in their child’s education and welcoming the involvement that caregivers initiate. Parents and teachers are big influences in a young child’s development. We already know that learning and education happens at all times and in all places for young children. Child development is not isolated to school and so a healthy relationship and good communication between a child’s caregivers and teachers will aid a child in this development. This line of communication and relationship are important to maintain because teachers and parents each have their own strengths in helping a child develop and learn. Teachers see how children act in school and around other children, they have experience working with many different children and families, and they have knowledge of a child’s development and typical stages he/she should
3
go through. The teacher also has strategies, information, and good resources that she can share with a parent to aid in the development of the child (Saiffer, 2003, p. 163). Parents, however, are the experts when it comes to their child, they have knowledge and experience with their child, and they know about their child at home and in other areas, the teacher may not see. Parents are also very emotionally attached to their children as that child is their main concern and whom they advocate the best for (Saiffer, 2003, p.163). Teachers can gather lots of useful information from the families of children in their class. Learning about a child’s family life can show different impacts on different children’s lives. Using enrollment information or even their own personal questionnaires, and keeping up with the changes going on in a child’s family can help teachers understand the child better and further his/her development (Kostelnik, 2011, p. 224). Because parents and teachers bring these different aspects to their relationship, a good relationship with communication will help both parents and teachers support their child in his/her development as much as possible. When beginning a relationship with parents, teachers need to be non-judgmental (Brewer, 2007, p. 239). This is important because parents and families are as diverse as the children in our classrooms are and just as we know to treat all children with respect and love, we should do the same for the families of the children. This non-judgmental attitude should also be applied to the respect and sensitivity for caregivers’ personal preferences and goals for their child. Because
4
parents are just as important to a child’s development as teachers, teachers need to listen, acknowledge, and respond to a family’s wishes for their child. Teachers and family need to share these ideas and goals with each other so that decisions can be made together about the best path for each child’s development and education (Copple & Bredekamp, 2009, p. 23). Teachers also need to consider that it is not developmentally appropriate to “limit ‘parent involvement’ to scheduled events.” Teachers need to make sure parents feel welcome in the classroom and that they are invited to participate in different activities and events at different times. (Copple & Bredekamp, 2009, p. 23 &p. 45). Teachers should maintain “frequent, [and] positive” communication with caregivers (Copple & Bredekamp, 2009, p. 45). Teachers should not only communicate with parents about problems or conflicts, but instead create an understanding and trust that they are mutual partners in their child’s learning and development (Copple & Bredekamp, p. 182). Parent should be informed about their child’s education and learning in school. Telling parents about your philosophy of education and what they should expect to happen in your classroom is a great way to initiate this aspect of the relationship. Parent should know their child’s typical day as well as what is happening monthly or weekly in their child’s class. Creating a newsletter, a journal, or sending home short and positive notes regularly is a great way to inform parents regularly
5
throughout the year (Kostelnik, 2011, p. 227). Some teachers even email or call parents regularly just to check in with parents and keep them informed. It is clear that parents and teachers have a huge impact on a child’s learning and development, as well as his/her overall life. A strong relationship and line of communication between a parent and teacher will help a child thrive in both the school and home settings. As teachers, we need to remember the importance of parental involvement and incorporate it appropriately throughout our practice. Mentor Teacher’s Family Involvement Plan My mentor teacher is a great example of involving and communicating with parents. She invites parents to be on all the field trips and, as a school policy, parents are always welcome to come for lunch. I would like to add that my mentor teacher is a special education teacher so she knows that parent involvement is crucial to any child’s development, typically developing or special needs. At the beginning of the year, my teacher had each child come to the classroom with his/her caregivers. I did not get to sit in on any of these meetings, however she described to me what they were like. The child was able to familiarize him/herself with the classroom and the two paraprofessionals and my teacher became acquainted with the parents. They talked and got to know each other and she learned as much as she could about the child’s family life. She went
6
over the typical schedule and explained to the parents what her classroom and teaching would be like and what they could expect. She also addressed any initial concerns they may have had. In this single instance, my teacher was establishing a personal relationship, line of communication, showing interest and concern in parents needs and wishes for their child, gathering information about the families, and keeping families informed. These are all different techniques and strategies that Kostelnik addresses as being beneficial to engaging families in a developmentally appropriate way (Kostelnik, 2011, p. 220-227). To continue gathering information about the children’s families, my teacher also sends out an informal questionnaire with questions she has deemed important and informative to helping her get to know the children and their families. These questionnaires include everything from naming brothers and sisters to a child’s favorite toy and activities. My teacher also sends home a weekly newsletter with information about what has just occurred recently in the class and what will be happening soon. This is her way of reminding parents of opportunities to be involved as well as including the parents in things that they might not have been able to attend. She also sends home a daily report on how a child has done that day which also lets the parents know what their child is accomplishing in school. My mentor teacher also has a very open line of communication with the parents of children in her class. She has parents that email her daily and
7
parents that she talks to on the phone on a semi-regular basis. These are all ways that my teacher continues to reinforce her relationships with the families of children in the class. My mentor teacher also has parent-teacher conferences 4 times a year (at each quarter). She keeps a portfolio on each child and it is at these conferences that she shows and explains the contents of the portfolio. This is my mentor teacher’s way of showing parents the progress that each child has made. I was not able to attend one of these meetings, however, my mentor teacher explained to me that she and the parent go through the contents of the portfolio and talk about the achievements the child has made over the semester. She then talks to the caregiver about what will be occurring in the future and what she expects to see from their child. She then asks the parents if they have any concerns or anything specific they would like their child to work on or any problems they want to talk about. She says she always tries to end on a positive note so she will either refer back to the children’s work in the portfolio or tell the parent a personal anecdote of something positive that happened to their child in the class. I found that all the techniques my mentor teacher uses are effective. She has a great turnout of parents who go on the field trips or class activities (like our thanksgiving feast) I personally have met every one of the children’s parents and that is without going to any conferences and only having 3 opportunities in which to do so. Not only does she have a lot of parents come on field trips, but I see her emailing or talking on the phone to at least one child’s
8
parent every day. The parents of the class certainly feel comfortable coming to her with questions or concerns and want to hear what she has to say. I think that overall my teacher’s strategies are successful allowing her to be very effective in forming lasting relationships with the children’s parents. My Family Involvement Plan In order to establish relationships with the families of the children in my classroom I would initially arrange for some sort of meeting. Whether this be at the school, or their house, or in a neutral setting. Whatever would work best for each parent. The caregivers of the children in my placement classroom are very familiar with the school and all seem very comfortable there so I would probably do like my mentor teacher and have a meeting at the school before school starts. This personal contact would allow me a time to show that I am interested in their life and care about their child. It would also allow me to show the parents that I believe we are in this together. I want the parents to know that I see they play a huge part in their child’s life. In this initial meeting would hope to get across the idea that we share responsibility for raising their child. I want them to see that I do not think I am in charge and know more and that I value what they have to say. To continue this throughout the year I would make many attempts to involve families in our class. Whether that be asking for chaperones for field trips or assistants for
9
activities to even just asking parents to come visit our classroom when they can. These various ways and attempts to include parents will keep the relationship going strong. When gathering information from families I want to use a variety of different strategies. Of course, an initial meeting with the families at the beginning of the year would help me gather initial information about the families of children in my class and start the process of getting to know them. I think that I would also early on in the year send home a short questionnaire for caregivers to fill out about the family and child. This would help me to have documentation for questions that I find may help me get to know the parents and child better. I would also like to have informal conversations with parents regularly. For the children in my class who are picked up in carpool I would help them into their cars and ask the parent how things are going. For those children who ride the bus, I would email or call their parents every couple of weeks just to check in and see how things are going and if anything has changed. For the children with special needs in my class I would find this very important. I would ask the parents of the children with special needs in my class about their home life and how the objectives are working out in the home. Knowing their objectives, I would talk to parents bi-weekly to talk about their child’s progress and suggest things they could do at home to help their child achieve their objectives. At the initial meeting I would have with the caregivers of the child in my class, I would provide the parent with a copy of the class’s daily schedule. I would talk to parents about
10
opportunities for them to visit throughout the day, explain my teaching philosophy to them, and talk about how I plan to run my class. These strategies will help initially inform the parents of the children in my class. When keeping them informed throughout the year I plan to have a monthly calendar and a weekly newsletter sent home to inform parents of past and upcoming events. I would have a folder/notebook to communicate with families about their child’s progress. I would write notes in this at least twice a week if not more. The notes can be very short (1 or 2 sentences) but just something to inform parents of how their child is doing in the class (preferably something positive). For the children in my class this would work very well. The parents are already very involved and so a calendar and newsletter will help keep them on track for opportunities when they can continue to be involved. The notebooks or folders are also a great way to establish two-way communication. Many of the things I have already mentioned fall into this category. Notebooks that go home daily, meetings, emails, and phone calls will all help establish two-way communication. I plan to vary the different techniques I use. For instance, one of the children in my class has a mother who likes to email my mentor teacher daily to check in on her child. I would happily respond to the parent and continue to work on the two-way communication. It is also important to note that I have a child in my class who has two different houses/caregivers he sees (mom and dad are divorced). I would make it a point to have good two-way communication with both parents of
11
the child. It is important to do this because when things happen at different houses, I want that parent to feel comfortable talking to me/telling me about it. I also plan to have family conferences at 4 times a year. I will allow the conference to be a time of sharing and conversation for both parties. It is will not just be time for me to talk at the parents about their child. I will to allow time for the parents to talk and I will listen. I plan to integrate parents into the program by having specific times and activities that I ask parents to please attend. Most of the parents in my class have a semi-flexible schedule and can get off of work when they want to attend something during the day. However, if I had a child whose parents worked a lot, I would try to change up the times of the events so that they could attend. This means possibly hosting something at night or on the weekends allowing the parents to have a time in which they could possibly attend. Another way I plan on integrating parents into the program is establishing an atmosphere that they feel comfortable coming into. I want the parents to feel welcome in my classroom at any time (even unannounced). I also plan on asking parents to send things in. If we are doing a unit on different cultures asking parents to prepare a type of food from their heritage could be a way for a parent to participate without having to be in school. Another great way I plan to involve parents in the program from home is sending home a certain stuffed animal or character from a book for the children to spend the weekend with. I will send it home with a journal and camera and ask families to take pictures and write in the journal
12
about their weekend with this special friend. This can then be read aloud to the class and is a great way for parents to be involved in their child’s education. I plan to provide families with education by helping parents see ways in which they can continue their child’s education at home. I plan to send home activities and ideas for parents to do things with their child to improve his/her development. I also plan to use the parent-teacher conferences or any other meetings with the parents as a time to provide the parents with information on child development and what is expected. This will help parents to understand the progression their child is going through and is the best way I can provide families of the children in my class with education. Working Through Problems with Parents There really is not a child in my class with extreme behavior issues. My teacher told me she has not had any problem behaviors that she has had to involve parents in yet this year. The only true intervention I have seen my mentor teacher talk to a parent about is according to a child’s IEP objectives. One of the objectives on the child’s IEP is to know his name and age. The parents want the child to know his name is Canyon, however, everyone at home calls him Bubbie. The first few weeks of school, my teacher struggled getting Canyon to realize his own name and answer correctly when asked his name. She talked to the mom and told her that in order for Canyon to improve upon this objective the entire family was going to need to help. She
13
and the mom talked about different options and settled on the family trying to not call Canyon “Bubbie� until Canyon had learned his real name. The family implemented this right away; within a few weeks Canyon answered to his name and could even tell you his name. This shows how important family involvement can be. This plan was appropriate because the teacher needed the family to assist her in helping the child learn his own name.
14
References Brewer, J. (2007). Introduction to early childhood education: Preschool through primary grades (6th ed.). Boston: Pearson.
Copple, C., & Bredekamp, S. (Eds.) (2009). Developmentally appropriate practice in early
childhood programs: Serving children from birth through age 8. Washington, DC:
NAEYC.
Kostelnik, M.J., Soderman, A.K., & Whiren, A.P. (2011). Developmentally appropriate curriculum: Best practices in early childhood education (5th ed.). Boston: Pearson.
Saifer, S. (2003). Practical solutions to practically every problem: The early childhood
teacher’s manual. (Rev. ed.). St. Paul: Redleaf.