How to Encourage Parent Involvement in the Classroom
July 23, 2015
As the old saying goes, “it takes a village to raise a child.” As a teacher your role is incredibly important when it comes to shaping a child’s morals and mind, but without the positive reinforcement and assistance from class moms and dads your efforts cannot reach their full potential. We know that it can sometimes be difficult to engage parents and get the most out of their classroom involvement. If you find yourself wishing you had more contact with your students’ parents, here are a few tips to help you strike up a conversation:
1. Keep the communication channels open and plentiful. The days of sending home flyers and handwritten notes have come and gone. Nowadays everything is digital. Check with your main office to see if you can grab a class parent email list and start sending out emails before the school year begins. You may find that creating a social media community or communicating by text message works well also. Always use communication technology to your advantage!
2. Be specific with your requests. Decide exactly where you need help and what roles you’d like the parents to play. Surveys show that parents are willing to lend a hand but need some more direction when it comes to contributing. Make a list of what you’d like to request from parents, including specific classroom duties as well as at-home reinforcement responsibilities. That way parents will know exactly what they’re signing up for!
3. Don’t forget about the working parents. It’s difficult for working parents to take part in classroom activities, but not impossible. Make sure that you keep the lines of communication open with all parents, no matter their availability. Next, create jobs that they can participate in from home, like monitoring a class website or social media page. If possible, try to schedule classroom parties or activities early in the morning, or late in the afternoon to try to accommodate busy schedules.
Incorporating parental involvement into your classroom routine is extremely important to the success of your students. If you have any great tips and tricks to keep parents involved and in the know, feel free to share them on our Facebook page!
Have you upgraded your classroom furniture lately? If not, why not give your tables and chairs a once over before you invite the parents? If you find that some of your furniture or storage units are a bit run down, Nickerson Corporation can help! As a supplier of high quality educational furniture for more than 60 years, we truly understand the importance of providing reliable, comfortable and flexible classroom furniture for students to learn, play, and exercise on.
For more information call 631-666-0200.