Board Policy 8:96 Community Relations - Parental Involvement adopted Aug 18, 2008
In order to insure collaborative relationships between students' families and the Board of Education and District personnel, and to enable parent(s)/guardian(s) to become active partners in education, the Superintendent shall develop administrative procedures to:
1. Keep parent(s)/guardian(s) thoroughly informed about their child's school and education (09/18/08) School Board Proceedings 45
2. Encourage involvement in their child's school and education.
3. Establish effective two-way communication between all families and Board of Education and District personnel.
4. Seek input from parent(s)/guardian(s) on significant school-related issues.
5. Inform parents/guardians on how they can assist their children's learning.
6. Train district staff to work with and accept input from diverse groups of parents/guardians. The superintendent shall periodically report to the Board on the implementation of this policy.
District Parent Involvement
1. District 150's district plan, its parental involvement policies and the district's process for reviewing its district plan must all be jointly developed by and agreed upon with the parents of the district's participating children, including parents of participating children enrolled in private schools.
2. The District will inform all Administrators, staff and parents of District 150's Parent Involvement Policy, changes to that policy and opportunities to participate in the eduction of children.
3. District 150 must submit any parental comments with the District's plan when it is submitted to the State if the plan is not satisfactory to the parents of participating children.
4. District 150 shall establish a District Parental Involvement Committee comprised of representatives for all District programs, including preschool, along with representatives from groups such as Even Start and Head Start. This committee shall meet at least one time per semester.
5. Each District 150 school Principal shall establish a parental advisory committee consisting of parents, teachers, staff and administrators. This committee shall be involved in decisions regarding how the District uses funds to increase parental involvement.
6. Each District 150 school shall develop a plan for building strong parental involvement programs. This plan shall be included with the school's overall SIP plan.
7. Each District 150 school will actively promote appropriate professional development programs for teachers,parents,pupil services personnel, administrators, and other staff in order to raise the academic standards and performance of the students.
8. The District 150 administration will provide technical assistance and materials to the schools as they support district parents to help promote learning at home.
9. Each District 150 school shall require parents of participating children to provide necessary feedback and suggestions for planning, developing and implementing effective programs. The responsibilities of the school and parents as partners in education will be outlined in a signed school/parent compact.
10. The District 150 administration will provide regularly scheduled conferences for teachers to communicate actively with parents and actively involve the parents in the school curriculum.
11. The District 150 administration will coordinate the district program and collaborate with other agencies providing services to children, youth and families including health and social services.
12. The District 150 staff will provide services to eligible children in private schools and hold timely and meaningful consultations with private school officials and the parents of participating schools.
13. The District 150 administration will be responsible for verifying that the district carries out parental involvement requirements as mandated by law.
14. District 150 Schools will annually measure the progress that students are making towards meeting State student performance standards through the use of high quality student assessments and report the information to parents, students and teachers.
15. The District 150 Parent Involvement Advisory Committee will annually evaluate the effectiveness of the district's parental involvement policy.
16. The District 150 administration will use the evaluation findings in designing strategies for school improvement and in existing parental involvement policies at the District and school levels.
CROSS REF: 6.250 (Community Resource Persons and Volunteers), 8.90 (Parent Organisations) ADOPTED: August 18, 2008 On roll call, 6 ayes. Motion carried.
33 comments:
Okay teachers...
How much of this is happening in your schools.
Keep in mind... This group of parents that the District is SUPPOSED to be engaging IS NOT just the PTO.
To be honest, Emerge, I think teachers are afraid to form relationships with parents. Most of it is cultural.
Agreed. That's why teachers need to be taught and encouraged to form relationships.
I think that principals may be a little leery of teacher/parent relationships. If parents love a teacher and support him/her - that's power. It takes a strong principal figure to let teachers build the needed relationships.
From the beginning of the school year, my students, parents, and I form a relationship of honesty and frust. The rules are clear and fully enforced. I even have my parents sign a contract of expectations: from me, from their child, and from them. Stude.ts WILL respect me from day one because I am an adult and I have earnex it.PERIOD
I will now be opening another can of worms with an array of thoughts. First of all, if all of this were really happening, parents would know more about the District's inner workings than teachers know, and parents would, also, have more say in policies, etc., than teachers have. :) I think we need to get down to the nitty gritty to spell out exactly what all this means. Do I believe that parents should have a say in curriculum, policies,etc.,--probably not. That is why we elect a school board--as in the case of government, elected officials are how we are represented. Also, parents aren't the only ones who have a stake in how schools are run--all members of the community have a stake.
First and foremost, parents need to be involved in their own children's lives--at home. If that isn't happening, their involvement at school isn't going to be worth much (and that is as true of inner city parents as it is of suburban parents who often are too busy with their own careers to be fully involved in their own children's lives).
The problem is that many parents (especially those who may not have completed their own education) do not really know what to do at home with regard to contributing to their children's education.
My own parents were not high school graduates. I could probably count on one hand the number of times either of them had any interaction with my teachers. They prepared me by teaching me how to behave--and that was by and large their major contribution to my education. My mother was a stay-at-home mom, but she didn't spend much time, if any, at school.
In all honesty, if every parent were fully involved "at school," the classrooms would be very crowded. Also, when teachers go home at night, they should be able to go home to be parents to their own children. These are no longer the days when teachers are all single women who are expected to devote their entire lives to teaching.
At some point, we have to be practical. How much of the school day should be set aside for teachers to interact with parents? If all parents want direct access to teachers, when are they going to have this access? How much time of their own time (nights and weekends) should teachers be available to accept phone calls, etc., from parents?
Yes, I do believe that parents are hesitant to approach teachers because of educational and cultural differences. Yes, I do believe that teachers ought to do everything in their power to bridge that gap when it exists.
The difference between today and the days when I received my own education is that the element of trust is gone. For whatever reason, parents often do not trust teachers. The educational divide was just as pronounced in "my day" as it is today because many parents of my own peers were not college (or sometimes even high school) educated. Frankly, the racial divide and the economic divide have probably created most of the problems that exist today--and certainly are the reasons for much distrust. We just can't deny that.
I guess we have to ask what kinds of relationships should be developed between parents and teachers?
My own career, I think, was a bit unique primarily because of my other jobs outside of teaching. For many summers I worked Head Start and at Urban League, which put me in direct contact with many families who, also, went to the schools where I taught. And I also tutored pregnant girls--that took me directly into the homes of some of my students. Not all teachers are going to have those unique experiences, so I am at a loss to know how they will forge the real relationships with the community that just "fell in my lap."
Being a High school English teacher, I find it very important to call all my students’ parents at least once a week. The parents need to know how their child is doing in my class and Skyward only has raw number scores. I usually can get it done before 7 if I spread the calls out over three days(usually Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday). Then at 7, I will start grading the various assignments and papers that I always get back the next day, because our students need instant feedback on their work. After I am done grading, I look at how I can incorporate Compass Learning or Thinking Maps into my lesson for the following day. Then I make sure my 6 year old daughter got to sleep ok and check to make sure my husband is still there on the couch watching his sportscenter. Next year I may have to devote some extra time to uploading my lesson plan to Pinpoint so that those younger teachers will know what they should be doing in their classes.
Being a teacher in District 150, what I have seen, on a building level, is an attitude of "We've tried to get the parents in here for years and they never come (unless there's food), so why bother." As someone who has helped organize events over the last decade to encourage parent participation, it has become very frustrating to put the time and effort into planning an event & only get the same 10 families.
That being said, this year, at least, we were required by administration to submit plans for parent-involvement including very thorough details about how we were going to publicize the event & what exactly we were going to do. We continued to put our best foot forward, but got the same result.
Parental involvement at the high school level is very difficult to cultivate. Maybe 15 parents, at the most, would visit me at open house. I was always amazed at how few parents of high school students ever saw their kids' report cards. I think the district does as good a job as possible to inform parents when report cards come out, but I think kids often intercepted the mail and parents didn't seem to question why they hadn't seen report cards.
Is it easier at the primary level? On grandparents' day at Whittier, there is always a packed house.
I would think parents would show up more often at the primary schools--sometimes to drop off or pick up their children. My guess is that parental involvement drops off even more by middle school--why I don't know.
Sounds like you are managing it English Teacher
The school district is SUPPOSED to be interacting with parents as partners (not as people with limited abilities who can't comprehend how to actively be involved with a school). If the District did what they are SUPPOSED to do, parents would be much more knowledgeable about programs and how schools work. Why does that make some teachers nervous Sharon? Don't worry - every parent of every student is not going to show up to the school every single day.
Emerge -- Please consider running for a position on the board of education. We need people of your quality to represent our community.
You should have been required to submit plans for parent-involvement last year and the year before.
The plans should be developed with a parent advisory committee and that committee should have been meeting all year long to develop that plan that you will be submitting.
If 5, 6 and 7 below didn't happen, the report you have been asked to submit is just the District trying to meet the paperwork requirement. Your plan should have been submitted in a timely manner for review by the District Parent Involvement Committee, before inclusion in the SIP plan (which should include parent feedback good and/or bad).
5. Each District 150 school Principal shall establish a parental advisory committee consisting of parents, teachers, staff and administrators. This committee shall be involved in decisions regarding how the District uses funds to increase parental involvement.
6. Each District 150 school shall develop a plan for building strong parental involvement programs. This plan shall be included with the school's overall SIP plan.
7. Each District 150 school will actively promote appropriate professional development programs for teachers,parents,pupil services personnel, administrators, and other staff in order to raise the academic standards and performance of the students.
I would like to know if any nearby school districts have to create a policy to involve parents. My guess is no. Because most people that "birth" children actually WANT them to succeed in school...
Anonymous above FYI...
The District was REQUIRED BY THE STATE to set up a parent involvement program, for the same reason the District has brought in a Superintendent to clean house (see the first two paragraphs of the Superintendent's response).
I can't answer for other teachers as to what makes them nervous. I don't think I knew any for whom that was a reaction. I totally enjoyed interacting with parents. Time was a factor, however. My years as a teacher were before parents had computer access. I started putting grades on a computer program--maybe in the 1980s. I sent grade sheets home once a week and put my phone number on the sheets. I offered kids some extra credit points (quite negligible in terms of their overall grades) to have their parents call.
After I started putting out grade sheets that often, I rarely had problems with students having questions about grades. If I forgot to record an assignment or recorded it incorrectly, the students spotted the errors and I fixed it. Students quickly learned what a zero could do to grade averages, etc. Keeping them informed about grades solved many problems. I had students request me as a teacher simply because of the grade sheets--weird but it did happen.
I do have a question for the English teacher who contacts all parents every week. The typical high school English teacher has over 125 students per day. Allowing 10 minutes per call, wouldn't that be something like 20 hours a week? Wow! Also, I found that it was sometimes very difficult to get in touch with parents because they weren't home (happens in any household) and my students or their siblings would answer the phone or no one would answer.
I do believe parental contact is extremely important at the primary school level--and calling 30 parents a weeks is much more manageable.
I just think we need to be realistic, and I am not at all convinced that teachers are that averse to talking to parents. I do believe if there are contentions involved (for whatever reason), then conferences should be set up with the teacher, parent, and an administrator. That is done regularly at the high school level--at least, in my experience. In summer school (where we had fewer students), we were always required to make daily phone calls--and that was very effective.
How do most parents feel about constant contact from teachers. At the high school level, each student has 6 teachers. Do parents want 6 phone calls a week? I just think we have to come to some realistic idea about what contact and relationship between parents and teachers means. The English teacher says she calls before 7--how many parents won't to take phone calls during the dinner hour?
very nice post, i certainly love this website, keep on it
Crews read back through your comments and notice how you seem to be saying that you prefer parents who are not knowledgeable and who won't visit the schools or who won't welcome contact from teachers. Kind of negative, but taht's you. A parent with knowledge would make the teacher actually have to do their job. Is that the problem?
Maybe you'd better read my comments again. I said and meant that I loved contact with parents (in my later years most of them were my former students, so they already knew all about me). I was in an extremely unique position, so I really don't know how the teacher-parent relationships, in general, should be handled or what "rules" should be followed.
I enjoyed an extreme level of trust from parents. When you've taught in the same area for 43 years and at the same school for 36 years, you gain a reputation. I was very, very happy with mine. I think parents and students knew what to expect from me--they certainly weren't intimidated by me. As I said, I sent home grade sheets once a week, so parents and students were very free to question how I arrived at grades, etc.
I believe that a principal should probably send home a questionnaire to parents every year to find out exactly how much contact they want from the school--and what kind of information they want. Most of you are assuming that parents want to be answering phone calls from teachers every day, etc.--I just don't think that is the case.
I have no experience at the primary school level--I think parental involvement and contact is very, very important at that level (and easier since most teachers have only 25 or so students for whom they have primary responsibility).
I probably should stay out of this discussion (never an easy thing for me to do) because I've done my thing. I know that I love being on Facebook now to find as many of my former students as I can--and they are free to call me whenever they want to do so. I'm just happy to take a peek into their lives as adults.
I don't think parent involvement should mean parents spend hours at the school volunteering or that teachers should spend hours calling parents and updating them on every little thing that happens. Teaching is a full time job. Parenting is a full time job. If both parties do what they're supposed to do - Things will work out. A lot of parents are busy working their asses off while raising kids and they need to count on business being taken care of at school.
Keep in mind too, though. School is supplemental learning. The vast majority of what kids learn they should be learning at home - with school to supplement in the specific areas of reading, writig, art, math, etc. This idea that schools are to develop the entire child (I.e. raise the child) is wrong.
Now, that said - we all know that there are students who have been passed on from one foster parent to the next - students whose mom is so sick with cancer she CAN'T parent. And parents who are just plain bad parents. The schools should (and do) try as hard as they can to make up for any deficits at home. Churches, etc., should step in as well.
As I've said before, my heroes are the students who have no pressure at home to attend school but who do so every day. Most of us teachers will go WAY out of our way to ensure they succeed. That's why be got into education in the first place, really.
And don't forget. How many other countries try to educate EVERYONE? We do all of this talking about how we're failing or not meeting standards. Sh*t. I was riding in a cab in Singapore once and the driver said he'd be a taxi driver his whole life because he didn't pass the test to further his education. That was IT for him. And how many other countries relegate you to a lower status in life of you don't have the money to get educated.
What we're trying to pull off has never been pulled off before. We should be proud of it.
My wife and I attended as many open houses and Parent/Teachers conferences as we could, for our two daughters. I think I missed a couple of open houses because I was working or on a business trip. But when girls got to Pekin High School, we went even though our children were doing ok. Their teachers told us the parents that needed to be there were always the ones that didn't show up.
Let's be honest, people. Dr. Lathan doesn't care who shows up to Parent University. She only cares about the chronies that she can fly across the country to speak at these ridiculous meetings. Flying speakers from California to motivate 2-5 parents????? REALLY!!!?? Wake up, Taxpayers!!!
All I can say is I am thankful my kids aren't in District 150 with Lathan being the head of it. Action instead of words should have been taken a long time ago to remove the Board. It will be sad to watch four more years of students get ruined!
In my primary classroom, I had parental contact weekly through a newsletter. Now, I can't guarantee some (or any) parents read it, but I did create it and included all important information like field trips, days off, spelling words, and what type of math we were working on that week. I also maintained my website and put the newsletter on there along with other links and calendar information.
I also made phone calls daily. That is not to say I spoke with the same parents each day, but I did speak to some parent every single day. Some parents I did speak to daily because they picked up their student or I was having behavior issues routinely with their child. I was able to also text some parents.
I love parental involvement and contact. I have no problem making phone calls and talking to parents other than the time it takes to do it. I generally spent the first 10minutes of my lunch making a phone call, several minutes (if not all) of my prep talking to a parent, and sometimes it was the first thing I did after school.
I have in the past sent home little post cards to a different student each week saying something really great their child had done that week. I would go out of my way to find a parent of a walking student if their child had done something super. One key to parent contact is making sure you are telling parents good stuff too. If they are constantly being told how awful Johnny behaves and how much trouble he is without ever hearing anything good, believe me, they check out of the process pretty quickly.
It can get to be a frustrating experience if some of the worst behaved children in your room have parents who are never seen or heard from again after registration. Phone numbers are disconnected or boyfriends answer and Mom never talks to you. I once promised the student in my room as well as her brothers some treat if they could just get the parental compact home, signed by mom and back to me the next day. It worked, but I never did get to meet the mother.
Knock on wood, I haven't had a horrible parental experience yet other than no contact at all. The parents I talk to seem very committed to working with me as best they know how on getting their child to come to school and behave well. It may just be some of these parents do not know the most effective way of doing that.
I am not nervous or afraid of our parents. I have always enjoyed interacting with them. I keep in touch with a weekly newsletter that lets them know what we are doing in class and call 2 or 3 parents for both positive and negative reasons daily. From what I have seen this is the norm for most teachers I work with. It makes our job much easier to have a continuing dialogue with parents throughout the year. Unfortunately, every year there are at least 10 parents that I never am able to contact and never see. These are the parents of the students who hide under their desk instead of work, refuse to sit down, throw things at me and other children, and basically make my job close to impossible. There is no involvement from these parents along with no consequences from the administration. Until someone is serious about solving this problem the teachers in 150 will teach when they can but spend the majority of their day on discipline and nothing will change.
there are other problems that the adminstration and boe simply will not address
passing failing kids along
standards so low that they are laughable
virtually no stance on attendance
community schools? taxpayers were duped on that one BIGTIME
Huge elephant in room-brought up via the Singapore taxi driver. We are doing amazing things in the attempt to educate all students. Is it fair then to compare our level of success with countries that cut off educational opportunities to a significant number of their population (due to O and A level type exam systems, family finances, or deeply ingrained social structures)?
Our public schools are attempting to educate those who would have been discarded long ago by many of the top performing countries. To bring this back to this discussion, don't we need to recognize that our students may need something other than what we are offering? The programs at Woodruff are a start, but it seems we need to recognize the need to serve each student's needs. (Easily accessible GED and job training programs for example)
Oh gosh, rereading my comment about public schools I'm afraid some will think that I don't feel that any of our students can excel in the existing curriculum. Not what I meant at all. Just that we need to recognize the diversity of our population and address the various needs. The possibility of addressing those needs is absent in many countries. We are more than capable of helping each of our students become capable and productive citizens.
From Board Policy:
3. District 150 must submit any parental comments with the District's plan when it is submitted to the State if the plan is not satisfactory to the parents of participating children.
Hmmm. Emerge you are a parent, your post is telling us the District's plan is not satisfactory. If a school board member is reading this, do you think they will submit these comments to the State.?
No.
Annon brought up the fact that other countries "cut off" educational opportunities to students. I would have to disagree with the term "cut off."
I have lived in several different countries and in each, all students were giving an opportunity around 14 or 15 to sit for a comprehensive exam which determined their "placement" in a particular high school. Best fit educational opportunities were thereafter provided to students based on ability. No one was kicked to the curb.
The U.S. would be good to recognize that education dollars are a scare resource and should not be squandered.
Annon., I do agree that it should not be any surprise that other countries do a better job of educating their student population as they are much more results oriented.
Frustrated, as long as you remember that there was a time in this country that all black children were cut off from an education without any testing for admission, at all. Memories like that do not fade, so people are naturally going to be leery of any plan that looks anything like what you have just suggested. I wholeheartedly agree that we have to return to standards. But we should allow for a natural selection process for higher level academics based on something much more than one test when a student is 14 or 15. This "one test determines everything mentality" is what I abhor so much about NCLB. The US is squandering more money than any of you imagine on the NCLB effort (considering the cost of testing itself and then all the money thrown at fly-by-night companies that exist only as get-rich-quick schemes)--money that could be much better spent to improve educational quality.
Yeah, once you're in that "track" there's no getting out of it. Whereas in America, you're not limited or put in a rut at the age of fourteen or fifteen. A-D
Really?
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