Working with Families Chapter 6

1. Working with FamiliesChapter 6 Aliya Malik Kathleen Leonard

2. Overview • This chapter talks about the importance of teachers and families establishing positive, productive relationships. • Evidence shows that family involvement in schooling is linked to students’ academic achievement. (Anderson & Minke, 2007).

3. Benefits of Family-School Relationships • First, knowing about children’s home situations provides insight into their classroom behavior. • Second, when families understand what you are trying to achieve, they can provide valuable support and assistance. • Third, families can help to develop and implement strategies for changing behavior. • Finally, parent volunteers can make classroom management easier by assisting in the classroom.

4. Challenges to Family-Teacher Cooperation

5. Teacher Reluctance to Involve Families in Schooling. • A primary reason for teachers reluctance to work with families is the extra time and energy that is required. • Teachers perceptions of families contributes to their reluctance to seek greater parental involvement. • Another reason teachers are reluctant to involve parents is the worry that parents may not understand their role in the classroom. • Finally, teachers enjoy the authority and autonomy they hold within their classrooms.

6. Parent Reluctance to Become Involved in Schooling • Competing demands of work. • Some adults have unhappy-traumatic memories of their own experiences as students. • Other families may feel guilty when their children have difficulties in school. • Some families may be intimidated or unnerved by schools. • Do not view participation at school as part of their parental roles.

7. Changes in the Family & American Society • In 1955, 60% of American households consisted of a working father, a homemaker mother, and two or more school-age children. • Nowadays, children are being raised in households with working mothers, single-parent homes, and gay and lesbian families. • Teachers’ attitudes and practices-not parents’ educational level, marital status, or workplace-determine whether families become productively involved in their children's schooling.

8. Overcoming the Challenges: Fostering Collaboration Between Families & Schools • Joyce Epstein and her colleagues at Johns Hopkins University have studied comprehensive parent involvement programs and identified six different types of family school collaboration.

9. Helping Families to Fulfill Their Basic Obligations • Family’s responsibility to provide for children’s health and safety, to prepare children for school, to supervise and guide children at each age level, and to build positive home conditions that support school learning and behavior. • Play an indirect role by making photocopies and share relevant articles from journals and magazines. Let families know about available materials, motivate and encourage them to attend programs. • You can also work directly with families by helping them communicate more effectively with their children. • Keep in mind cultural differences about child rearing to prevent cultural clashes between home and school.

10. Communicating with Families • Schools are obligated to communicate to parents about school programs and children’s progress. • Face-to-face interaction such as parent teacher conferences, open houses, report cards, progress reports, memos, email, newsletters and phone calls. • Communicating with parents are essential. Make sure to note when they occur, whether they are being understood, and whether they lead to feelings of trust and respect or of alienation and resentment.

11. Home Visits • It can valuable way to learn about students lives, in addition to reaching parents who are unenthusiastic about coming to the school. • Visiting the homes of immigrant students can be helpful when learning about family background, experiences, values, strengths and challenges. • Some districts encourage teachers to visit the homes of all there students before the first day of school, in order to learn about his/her family. • Other districts have created positions like home visitation coordinator or parent educator- his/her responsibility is to regularly visit students’ homes to discuss important events in the family’s life, the child’s progress in school, and ways a parent can support and extend their child’s learning.

12. Practical Tips for Making Home Visits • Make appointments in advance, and follow up with reminders (try to make sure that when you schedule visits- all key members of the family will be home). • Plan on brief visits, but follow the family’s lead on how long you stay. • Expect the unexpected (cancellations, unfamiliar situations, sharing of emotional or troubling information). • If a translator or interpreter is present, look at the family member to whom you are speaking to rather than the interpreter. • Make sure you have good questions to guide discussions, especially during the first visit (list of questions on page 179). • Remember parents and family members are experts on their children so OBSERVE, LISTEN, and LEARN! **

13. Report Cards 1. It is NOT a very informative way to give grades. • To clarify or elaborate on students’ grades- it is a good idea to write narrative comments avoid bland general statements. • Take brief notes during the marking period about accomplishments or behaviors. • Always try to say at least one positive thing about a students performance on each report card. 2. Their timeliness stinks. • Report cards should never come as a shock to a parent/ guardian, a parent/ guardian should know how their child is doing throughout the marking period. • Some districts require teachers to write progress reports or letters, to be sent home every four weeks (which summarize the child’s strengths and areas that need improvement).

14. Back-to-School Night • For many parents back-to-school night is their first opportunity to meet you and see your classroom. • It is also your first opportunity to show the parents all the great things you have been doing, and what plans you have for the school year. • With the hectic schedules parents have back-to-school night may not always have a great turnout. What are some other ways you can meet with parents?

15. Practical tips for back-to-school night • Send out special invitations to families indicating how much you are looking forward to meeting them. • Make sure the classroom looks especially attractive and neat- bulletin boards should showcase the work of ALL the students in your class. • If you want the parents to sit in their child’s seat make sure there are name tags on their desks. Even have your students write a note to their mom or dad to read. • Greet parents at the door, introduce yourself, find out who they are, and show them where their child sits. • Make sure your presentation is brief and well organized- PowerPoint. • Have a packet of materials or handouts for the parents to take home (make sure to sent the packet of materials/handouts home to the parents who could not come to back-to- school night). • Inform parents of the support staff (aides, special education teachers) who work in the classroom with you and introduce them if they are present.

16. 8. If parents raise issues that are unique to their child, let them known in a sensitive way that the purpose of this back to school night is to describe the general program. Indicate that you would be more than happy to talk about their concerns in a private conference. • Listen carefully about questions that a parent may have. Provide an opportunity for parents to discuss their goals or expectation for their children in the coming school year. • Provide a sign-up sheet for parents who are able to participate in classroom activities. • If refreshments are being served after the class meeting, join in on the conversations.

17. Parent Teacher Conferences • Schools generally schedule one or two formal parent-teacher conferences during the school year- which are frustrating for both the teacher and the parent. • Parent- teacher conferences are sometimes the only opportunity you get to meet face-to-face with members of a child’s family. • Try to begin the conference by putting the parents at ease with small talk or something funny that happened at school, then lead with something positive, next point out the child’s progress both strengths and weaknesses. • Document your reports by SHOWING STUDENT WORK that you have collected. • Remember a conference should be a TWO-WAY conference- so make sure you LISTEN! Allow time for parents to ask questions. • If a parent is angry or upset about a specific situation, approach, incident, or teacher DO NOT respond with anger and defensiveness- instead use the communication skills that are in chapter 3 page 65.

18. Sending Home Student Work • Teachers send students’ work home so that families can see how their children are doing in school- sometimes the work does not arrive or even in good condition. • To avoid this problem many teachers collect the work over the week then send it home for parents to view, sign, and return “Friday Folders.” • When sending home work keep in mind: • Written comments may be scrutinized. • Think carefully about what kind of work you are sending home.

19. Family Involvement in School • Assemblies- upcoming events, announcements of interests, “student of the week.” • Classroom Volunteers- assist in reading time, learning centers/activities, supervise a puppet show. • Clerical and Housekeeping Chores- prepping bulletin boards, organizing games. • Sharing Information- jobs, hobbies, cultural backgrounds. Family Involvement in Learning Activities at Home • Families can assist their own children at home in learning activities that are coordinated with ongoing class work. • It is important to think carefully about realistic ways in which families can participate in learning activities at home.

20. Activities Involving Reading and Books • Families can create a supportive literacy environment at home by: 1. Getting their child a library card. 2. Setting aside a special place to keep books. 3. Subscribing to a children’s magazine. 4. Reading road and street signs while walking or driving. 5. Writing notes to children. 6. Helping children make birthday cards for friends and relatives. 7. Limiting television and video games. 8. Read aloud to their children.

21. Activities Involving Joint Homework Assignments • A program called “Teachers Involve Parents in Schoolwork” (TIPS) developed by Joyce Epstein provides teachers with interactive homework assignments that require students to involve family members. 1. Using family shoe sizes and height. 2. Discussing results with family members. 3. Interviewing family members. Supervising Homework • Many parents are worried they can not provide the adequate help their child needs. • Provide explicit information about your homework expectations and specific suggestions for working with children at home. • Emphasize the importance of just monitoring their children’s school work and setting limits (have the most beneficial effects on students’ achievements).