-
In what practical ways do you and/or your school currently support parents? What benefits have you seen from this?
-
In our school, we always remind parents that we are partnering with them and coming alongside them as they raise their children. As teachers, we must be cognizant of putting the responsibility back on the parent to make sure that parents are holding the role that God designed them to hold over their children. We invite parents into our classrooms as volunteers when possible. We also hold meetings in which the parents can have discussions with our administration. We discuss topics that can be difficult for parents such as social media accounts for children, etc. We have seen the relationships between parents and our school grow. We have seen families become stronger for the children. We have also seen an increase in interest in our school because our community has recognized that our school values parent input.
-
Our school offers before/after child care. Students can arrive as early as 7;00 am, when the day begins at 8:00am. There is no additional charge for this service. We also offer aftercare in the afternoons. This service is from 3:30 – 6:00 pm, with a nominal charge per day or week or month. In aftercare there is scheduled homework time, snack time and recess time – meeting the academic, physical and emotional needs of the child that comes at the end of the regular school day.
-
My school has several volunteer parents that are vital every day. We also have parents that use their skills for special projects, i.e. a parent who can design amazing gift baskets from various donated items for the annual auction. They want to be around their kids and eagerly support the teachers. Developing relationships with each other helps us all be sincerely invested in being a part of what God is doing at our school. We pray more and work harder when we know each other personally.
-
As a parent and a teacher at our school, the support that parents receive is one of the reasons why we chose this school. Besides the everyday communication and inviting our parents to all different activities throughout the year, partnering with parents is a major focus. Our school offers seminars on various issues, including technology and parenting. The most important benefit I see from this is that the parent involvement is incredible. Parents see how much our teachers love and care for their children and in return, they provide a tremendous support to our teachers. This relationship is crucial to encouraging and guiding students.
-
We like to incorporate special events to include parents. We do coffee/muffin mornings, a mother lunch and a father lunch, and have numerous opportunities to volunteer throughout the school year. We have seen the importance of getting the parents involved in the school and the impact this has on their kids in a positive way. The student feels like their parents in some way gets to see their day to day and understand what they have been learning. Being a part of their education is important.