Thursday, March 1, 2012

Parents as Partners

Parents can be a School's Best Resource

I'm in the process of writing a book that tells the success story of a small school that began in a hen house nearly 100 years ago and thrives today. Now the red brick school with numerous additions serves hundreds of children. It's always been one of those schools that inspires people to move into the neighborhood so their children can attend. Yes, one of those.

To write the story, I've interviewed people who were there in 1926, 1936, 1946, and 1956...people who have raised their kids in the neighborhood, retired there, and remain there today. They wouldn't dream of leaving. My goal was to find out what made this little school so successful. There are several answers, but the item at the top of the list is parent participation.

The founding principal, my Great Aunt Marion, started the Mothers' Club during the first year. The mothers (and fathers) were her partners. Without their help, the school would not have survived The Great Depression, World War II, or the onslaught of students that came to the area during the "baby boom" that followed.

Today, with budget cuts, deteriorating school buildings, growing class sizes, more and more mandates, more and more emerging technologies and the requirements those bring; few education opportunities due to lack of funds....I could go on. No matter what issues teachers face, they shouldn't have to go it alone. They shouldn't be blamed for failing students. No one person and no one group can solve the problems we face today. No one person could have solved them 100 years ago either. It does take a village.

So my Aunt Marion engaged the community by giving them enough power to feel like they were part of the program. She kept them informed and involved and they returned her respect by advocating for what was needed to keep the school alive, by sharing the school's success stories witgh the greater community, by fundraising, sharing resources, and helping the school to thrive.

Parent partnerships with schools and with classrooms show children that education is important, to respect the school and the teacher. Family involvement provides learning support systems that help, in the long run, raise grades, and increase attendance and graduation rates.

There are numerous parent-as-partner organizations supporting the family/school connection. One I recommend is Parents 4 Public Schools. They have chapters all over the country and use their website to highlight successful partnerships, strategies for involving parents, and a database of resources for schools.

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