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In what practical ways do you and/or your school currently support parents? What benefits have you seen from this?
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My school currently supports parents by opening early (7:30 a.m.) and accommodating parents who pick up their students later in the afternoon or early evening (5 p.m.). As a parent myself when I worked an office job, this reduced the stress I felt rushing around either before or after work hours to tend to drop off and pick up my sons. The working parents feel seen, appreciated and cared for with such flexibility.
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At the very least, good, regular and clear communication with parents is essential so they know what is happening in the school and in the classroom. I think it is also helpful to know about and to recommend outside resources for tutoring, physical and mental health, social services, etc.
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By helping to disciple their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
By providing students a sound academic environment.
By giving parents timely and accurate feedback on their students progress.
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Our school opens at 6:30 a.m. each day for before-care of our students. We are in a military town and many parents report at 7:00 a.m. This also means that some parents deploy and leave a student with one parent at home or both parents deploy and a grandparent or other relative takes care of the children while the family is separated. We try to stay aware of family situations as they change often and teachers see a change in students’ emotions, moods, and behaviors when their family situations change.
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It is my policy to send periodic classroom update emails to my parents. I let them know what we are studying, and what to expect in the way of upcoming homework assignments. I generally write a form letter, then include a couple personal sentences about the success of their student. I also like to talk with parents before or after school to get to know them. I like to send personal emails whenever their child is excelling in class or demonstrated a Christ-like quality. I reach out when a student is absent and I write emails or make a call to parents when I notice a child is having a hard time academically or behaviorally in class to see if I may be able to help. I enjoy getting to know my students parents.