Building Bridges Between Home and School Library : What's New - Newest Additions To Our Handpicked Articles and Teacher Resources

5 New Links:

Apathetic Parents Students and Parents Who Don't Care - by Harvey Craft
With students who "just don't care," parents are a key part of the problem and the solution. Getting parents into the school for conferences and to help with some aspect of the school activities is crucial. Schools can invite the parents of the most troubling students to a free dinner an offer door prizes. Sponsors may be needed to fund such activities and should be recruited aggressively. Community leaders can be encouraged to volunteer as speakers. Parents should be offered realistic solutions and goals for their children. new (Views So Far 11 )

Parents Who Do Not Parent - by Will Okun
While this article isn't just about the importance of parental involvement in the education of their children, it is a good highlighting of parental engagement. Of course, there are no magic solutions, but the author ties involvement and structural changes to the huge dropout rates in Chicago schools. new (Views So Far 12 )

10 Things Any School Can Do to Build Parent Involvement. Plus 5 Great Ways to Fail! - by John Wherry
This PDF file offers some simple strategies for increasing parent involving in schools and defeating parent apathy. Ten ideas, plus five things to be avoided. new (Views So Far 85 )

African-American students need parent-school partnerships - by Ivory A. Toldson
School leaders and parent advocates can implement many culturally responsive strategies to engage black parents in their children's education. Schools should assess their services and accommodations for parents of diverse backgrounds, including parents who speak a language other than English. In addition, schools should evaluate communication strategies and make every effort to communicate with all groups of parents year-round. Emphasis should be placed on communicating the positive achievements of students and parents. Be creative. Take pictures of parents bringing their children to school, and post them on the wall under the banner, "We Love Our Parents." Instead of stigmatizing parents, schools should broaden the scope and definition of parental involvement to include multiple forms of participation (such as school, home and community based) that accommodate various household compositions and family circumstances. Special accommodations, such as child-care services offered during school events, are another important engagement strategy to consider for these groups. new (Views So Far 11 )

Communication Between Teachers And Parents Five Keys to Successful Parent-Teacher Communication - by Barbara Mariconda
While the five communication tips here are basic, I'd bet that teachers, busy as they are with coping with their students, will often forget at least one or two, and they ARE important. Excerpt: The best way to avoid misunderstandings with parents is to have ongoing, clear lines of communication from the beginning. The more you keep them informed about classroom news and include them in school happenings, the more they'll feel like a part of the team. The end result? Parents who are supportive, understanding, and a little less likely to jump to negative conclusions. Here are five ground rules of effective communication with parents: new (Views So Far 64 )