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

8 New Links:

Communication Between Teachers And Parents Building Bridges from School to Home - Examples Of How To Do It - by Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot
There is no more complex and tender geography than the borderlands between families and schools. Everyone believes that parents and teachers should be allies and partners. After all, we are all engaged in the important and precious work of raising, guiding, and teaching our children. But all too often, parents and teachers feel estranged from and suspicious of each other. The relationship can become competitive and adversarial rather than collaborative and empathie. What can teachers do to build stronger ties? Nearly all the teachers I interviewed reported that they receive little, if any, training on building successful relationships with the parents of the children that they teach. Yet, how teachers approach encounters with parents from the first day has a profound effect not only on how parents view the school, but also on the child's experience in and outlook on school and learning as a whole. Teachers need to develop strategies, tools, and skills for supporting productive dialogue with parents. They need to value the authority and wisdom of parents. new (Views So Far 68 )

Innovative Ideas On Home and And School Cooperation Parent Homework Bridges the Teacher-Student Gap - National Writing Project - by Mary Buckelew
I teach students who are identified as being at-risk of school failure or of dropping out-a rather disenfranchised group-so I am constantly looking for ways to personally connect with my students and their families and to help them connect with school. Of course, getting to know my students as individuals with distinct stories, tastes, goals, struggles, and learning styles, is critical to this connection. But sheer numbers can make this goal difficult to achieve. While I instantly connect with some of my more outgoing students, it can be months before I really get to know others-and by then the school year is half over. About five years ago, my colleague Terry Cole shared with me a strategy he uses to bridge the information gap: he assigns "parent homework" that helps him connect with every student and every family right at the beginning of the school year. I knew right away that this would be a powerful tool for helping me establish these invaluable relationships. I began assigning parent homework then and, based on enthusiastic parent response, have continued this practice every year since. new (Views So Far 87 )

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. new (Views So Far 115 )

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. new (Views So Far 90 )

Principals Connecting With Parents For Principals: Working With Negative People - by na
Principals often have to work with negative people, either parents, or staff. Here's some advice on how to cope with it successfully. Excerpt: A positive school culture starts at the top -- with the principal. But even the most upbeat principal knows that pockets of negativity can surface and spread, sometimes slowly and quietly and other times like wildfire. That's why wise principals always keep their radar tuned, watching for signs of discontent. new (Views So Far 109 )

Parental Involvement in our Schools (Advice For Principals) - by Eileen Rygus
Building relationships and communicating clearly emerged as two highly successful themes from this study. Because principals realized relationship building is time-consuming and their teachers were busy, the principals I interviewed made it their responsibility to build relationships with parents. These successful principals employed the following five strategies new (Views So Far 62 )

School Administrator's Guide To Parental ENGAGEMENT Strengthening Partnerships Within K-12 School Communities - by CPCO
HIGHLY RECOMENDED read for principals. Extensive in-depth report on how school administrators can increase parent engagement. new (Views So Far 72 )

Principals Share Parent Involvement Ideas - by EdWorld
From time to time, Education World updates and reposts a previously published article that we think might be of interest to administrators. We hope you find this recently updated article to be of value. Education World asked principals to tell us about ways their teachers involve parents in the classroom and the school. Dozens of ideas flooded our e-mailbox. Here we share some of those great ideas. Included: More than 30 practical ideas for including parents across the grades. Recently, we asked the principals who are members of Education World's P-Files team (see Calling All Principals) to tell us about ways their teachers involve parents in the classroom and the school. Dozens of ideas flooded our e-mailbox! Here we share some of those great ideas! new (Views So Far 57 )