Home-School Relations: Establishing Collaborative Relationships

Establishing and Maintaining Collaborative

RelationshipsPSEd 26 – Home-School Relations

Presented by:

Mr. Ronald Macanip Quileste, MAEd-SM

School of Education

Xavier University – Ateneo de Cagayan

Corrales Avenue, Cagayan de Oro City

Topic Outline

A. Developing Welcoming Schools and Classrooms

B. Establishing Ongoing Communications with Parents

C. Parents in Schools

D. Working with Selected Families

E. Handling Collaborative Relationships

F. Community Involvement

Overview

• The collaboration of parents and communityagencies is essential if schools are to succeed ineducating young children for a rapidly evolvingsociety.

• A review of the research on family and communityinvolvement in schools (Henderson & Mapp, 2002)established that a strong collaboration betweenthe three social settings led to higher achievementby children.

Overview

• The same study also found that when communityand parent groups organized to improve schools,their efforts led to upgraded school facilities,improved school leadership, higher qualitylearning programs, and additional resourcesdesigned to improve teaching and family supports.

• Schools will serve as embedded partners.

Overview

• To establish partnerships teachers need to considerways of interacting with parents and communitymembers that respect diverse communication andwork styles.

• Schools that develop more welcoming strategieshelp parents and other community members feelmore comfortable in involving themselves inschools and classroom experiences.

Overview

Developing Welcoming Schools and Classrooms

A. A welcoming physical and social environment is the essential first step in creating a climate that encourage parent and community involvement.

- A clean, well-cared for school with interesting displays of children’s work will create a memorable impact on newcomers to school

- Friendly signs

- Smiles and positive attitude

- Waiting space/area


Tools for Early ContactsA.Letters, Post Cards, and E-mail

- during summer, some teachers send children a short note or post card to introduce themselves to children.

A.Telephone Contact- teachers can begin this process with a brief telephone conversation before or soon after school begins for the year.


Formal and Informal Classroom Visits

- Schools invite parents and children todrop in during one of the days beforeschool begins to meet the teacher andsee the classroom


Formal and Informal Classroom Visits

- These short 10 -15 – minute visits areespecially helpful for younger childrenor children transferring to the schooland can help ease some of the anxietyparents and children feel aboutentering a new classroom.




Home Visits

- Visiting the homes of preschool – age children prior to the start of school has been common practice in some programs for many years.

Ex. Head Start


Home Visits

- Such home visiting programs are designed to establish family – school relationships early by helping children become acquainted with the teacher and helping the teacher understand the home situation (Morrison, 2006).


Home Visits

- Successful home visits depend on the teacher’s ability to develop a trusting relationship with parents.

- Home visits can provide teachers with new insights into the social, cultural and cognitive functioning of children and their parents.


Home Visits

- Keep in mind that parents’ refusal for home visits must be respected and an alternate plan for meeting must be arranged.


Home VisitsRecommendations for Home Visits…1. Clarify the purpose of the visit with an initial

telephone call.2. Arrange a convenient time so that the children

can be part of the process.3. Set a specific time for the visit. Arrive and depart

on time and leave earlier if events warrant it.4. As a guest in the home, respect the cultural and

ethnic values the family exhibits.


Home VisitsRecommendations for Home Visits…5. If other family members are present, include

them in your conversation.6. Be an alternative listener, but don’t

oversocialize or get drawn into the family controversies.

7. Be prepared to suggest agencies and types of services that parents might pursue in getting help if the family asks.


Home Visits


Home Visits

Recommendations for Home Visits…

8. Invite the parents to become active participants in the school program, suggesting several levels of involvement.

9. Follow up the visit with a thank-you note and indicate action for what was agreed on during the visit.

Establishing Ongoing Communication with Parents


• Informal Contacts

- informal conversations (brief discussions) with parent – clients

- usually happens beginning of the day or at the end of the class day.

- lengthy conversations, usually topics that have to be dealt in a meeting should be avoided

• Written Communications

- School and classroom handbooks, questionnaires, newsletters, bulletin boards, Web pages, and informal notes are all used by teachers to gather information and to communicate with families about their children’s school environment.


• Written Communications

A. Handbooks

B. Homework

C. Bulletin Boards

D. Newsletters and Websites

E. Informal notes and Email

F. Interactive Portfolios


(G) Good (F) Fair

Parent's Siignature and Comments:

_________ Interacts appropriately with peers

_________ Behaves inn specials

_________ Behaves in hallways

_________ Shows respect

_________ Completes homework

Teacher Comments:

In general, your child's behavior this week was:

(NI) Needs Improvement

_________ Listening skills

_________ Works quietly

_________ Stays on task

_________ Completes class work

We will be sending home weekly reports in this term for all children. These will keep you aware

of your child's progress in social skills

Dear Parent / Guardian,

Weekly Report

Name: ______________________________________ Date: ________________________________________


• Parent – teacher Conferences


• Parent – Teacher Conferences

- These are the most frequently used method of parent –teacher communication and are a successful way to discuss the child’s progress.

What will PTCs foster?

A. Parental Involvement

B. Student Involvement


Parents in Schools

Parents in Schools

• Involved parents usually become strong supporters of their children’s schools

• They come to appreciate what teachers are doing and what is involved in educating their children

• Some of these parents commit to act as volunteers, classroom resource persons, or even paid aides.

Parents in Schools

Parents in Schools

Parents in Schools

• School Visitation

- these are productive visits of parents in schools

- Teachers should make it clear that parents as well as other people (grandparents, aunts, and uncles) are welcome in the school.

- Most classrooms have special events to which teachers invite parents:

A. Stone Soup Day

B. Poetry Slam

C. Coffee Hour

D. Literacy Night

E. Heritage Night

Parents in Schools

• Parents and Community Members as Volunteers

- Although some schools have money allotted to hire oneor more parents to work as aides in the classrooms,volunteers are increasingly needed to serve a varietyof roles in schools.

- To be most effective, classroom volunteers needorientation and training in order to participate inongoing classroom activities.

Parents in Schools

• Parents and Community Members as Volunteers

1. Regularly Scheduled Volunteers

2. Occasional Volunteers

3. Parents as Tutors

4. Parents Sharing Expertise

5. Expressions of Appreciation

Parents in Schools

• Parents and Community Members as Advocates

- When parents or community members becomeadvocates for children, they seek to influence schoolpolicy.

- Besides joining the PTA, they may attend SchoolImprovement Team (SIT) meetings or speak out atschool board meetings.

Parents in Schools

• Parents Education

- means that teachers are learning new skills for interacting with parents

- Teachers value parents’ ideas, help parents understandtheir own skills, and more effectively integrate homeand community knowledge with classroom learning

- Seedfeldt and Barbour (1998) described a program ofoutreach in which a principal succeeded in gettingparents involved by allowing them to choose andplan their own topics.

Parents in Schools

• Working with Selected Families

Parents in Schools


- Schools must find ways to contact ALL families or parents regardless of their ethnicity, homelessness, socioeconomic status, and gender orientations.

a. Culturally Diverse Families

- When teachers are working with different languagegroups, they must learn a thing or two of thatlanguage to foster respect and accepts a two-wayresponsibility in communicating

Parents in Schools



- Teachers must also recognize that different culturalgroups may have differing understanding about the rolesof families.

Parents in Schools



Parents in Schools


b. Homeless and Migrant Families

Parents in Schools


c. Gay, Lesbian and Transgender Parents

Handling Collaborative Relationships

• Good relationships do not just happen. Both internal and external conditions and factors help establish better relationships.

a. Conditions for Positive Relationships

1. Mutual respect

2. Recognizing and supporting expertise of others

3. Improve communication with parents:

a. Ask instead of tell

b. Listen instead of talk


Mutual respect


Mutual respect


Recognizing and supporting expertise of others


Communication with Parents



a. Conditions for Positive Relationships

4. External factors:

a) Workshops

b) Time

c) Flexible schedules


Parent Workshops


Time


Schedules


Schedules



b. Barriers to Good Relationships:

1. Differing philosophical positions and perspectives on how children learn and how should be taught.

2. Attitudes

3. Nonverbal interactions

4. Fear

5. Wide socioeconomic and cultural differences

6. External Features


Different Perspectives


Attitudes


Fear


Fear


Cultural Differences


Socioeconomic Status

Community Involvement

Community Involvement

• Teachers and administrators have a greater responsibilityin reaching out to the community to develop partnerships,but parents often play a role in getting individuals,agencies and businesses involved with the local schools.

a. Trips into the Community

b. Bringing the Community into the School

c. Involving the Business Community

Thank You!

Hare Krishna!

Home-School Relations: Establishing Collaborative Relationships

Education

welcoming schools

schools henderson mapp

classrooms home visits

classrooms formal

start of school

school facilities

classrooms tools

community involvement