Schools Doing Innovative Things To Foster Communication Between Parents and Teachers

Most people see educational systems as rather rigid and lacking innovation, doing the same old things over and over again, but that's not true. One reason why there is MORE innovation in school systems is the way they are structured, as compared to other "government" organizations. Because schools are more localized, and much closer to the community, there's more flexibility in trying out new and different ways to conduct the business of educating children. School trustees are more accessible, as are teacher, compared to other government type department staff.

In fact, many schools and school systems are trying different methods to encourage parents to become more involved partners in the education of their children.

This Section: Focus On Innovations In Building Better Home-School Communication

In this section we celebrate that innovation -- school boards that are trying out different methods, sometimes successful, sometimes not. Still we need to spread the word that schools aren't the places of rigid thinking, and that at least, most are trying to improve things for the parents and children.

Top : Innovative Ideas On Home and And School Cooperation :

There are a fair number of rather innovative approaches to bringing parents and schools closer together for the benefit of the students. Here you'll find some of the more interesting concepts.

Innovative Ideas On Home and And School Cooperation

27 Ways To Increase Family Involvement In Classrooms - by Mia MacMeekin
Infographic for teachers that contains 27 ideas for increasing parental engagement in their kids' education. (Views So Far 388 )

An Innovative Model for Parent-Teacher Partnerships | U.S. Department of Education - by Maria C. Paredes
Maria Paredes, the Director of Community Education at Creighton School District in Arizona, has developed a new model for parent engagement that is attracting national attention and resulting in positive outcomes in her district. The model, called the Academic Parent Teacher Team (APTT), replaces the traditional parent-teacher conference with three group meetings throughout the year, where teachers meet at once with all parents in their classroom. Each parent is provided with a folder of their child's performance indicators. Teachers then provide an in-depth coaching session on how to interpret this data based on overall classroom performance, school benchmarks, and state standards. Paredes began the model as a pilot with 12 participating teachers. Today, 79 classrooms in all nine schools in the Creighton district use the model. Parent attendance for APTT meetings averages 92 percent. The Department interviewed Paredes to find out more about how APTT can be used as part of a school turnaround strategy. (Views So Far 415 )

Annual Day of Parent Appreciation - by na
From early in the school year, parents and caregivers of students at Pennsylvania's The School District of Philadelphia receive the message that they are appreciated. "Parent Appreciation Day" is an event that not only recognizes the contributions of families but shares information about low-cost and free services to help parents navigate through life. (Views So Far 363 )

Innovative Approach: Parent-Teacher Teams: Reorganizing Parent Teacher Conferences - by Maria C. Paredes
Looking for a different approach to conducting parent teacher meetings? Check this out, a report about a school that does it differently. (Views So Far 220 )

Learning Power: Parents and teachers work together to improve student achievement - by Jessica Cervantes
Every Thursday evening Emilia Martinez, mother of two teenagers attending LAUSD schools, has her husband drop her off at Belmont High School. She meets with 26 other concerned parents and 17 "Novice Teachers" as part of the Parents and Teachers Working Together. UCLA's Teacher Education Program (TEP) facilitates the group. The Novice Teachers are first-year teachers from UCLA's TEP doing their student teaching in the Belmont Complex and Berendo Middle School. Program Coordinator Laila Hasan said the goal of the program is to assist new teachers in collaborating with parents, school and community members. Together they can support student competency and academic achievement. This program also assists parents in becoming more involved with their children's education and academic success. By informing parents about issues currently affecting students in their community and educating them of their rights as parents, they learn how to play a more active role in their children's education. (Views So Far 319 )

One Teacher Makes A Difference: Building a Bridge Between Home and School - by Catherine Humphrey
One teacher makes a connection with parents by assigning parent homework, so they work more with their kids. (Views So Far 370 )

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