Starting the Year off Right

So I began this year with the end in mind. I am attempting to prove that if the teacher takes the time to make contact and truely get to know the parents of students that evidence of this will appear in the form of increased academic awareness.  The school year began with a bang and I have 22 students enrolled in my first grade class. I volunteered to do registration this year in the hopes that I would get to meet some of my parents early. This was the first year that we had a meet the teacher night in which allowed parents to drop off school supplies prior to the first day of school. It went great I thought I had 9 parents out of 22 show up. So with in the first week of school I was determined to make contact with all my parents. I did so through the use of post cards. It was nothing extravagent just a Welcome to Ms. Garrett's class with a little personnal message about what I have witnessed about that their child so far. All POSITIVE! I also sent home reminders and made a few phone calls to notify parents about the upcoming Open House on September 4th. To my surprise I had 15 parents show up. I then spoke about my plans for this year and the rigor that will be involved as well as how I would love parent volunteers and all their support will be greatly appreciated and welcomed. It was then that many parents expressed their willingness to help but did not want to come and make copies or laminate, and definitaly not decorate. Don't get me wrong their were a few that wanted to come and just decorate and make copies.  I explained to my parents that I will be utilizing them in the classroom. I plan to have a parent night for just my parents in which I will have make and take nights. This will help my class parents get to know each other and get them involved with their childs academics and help them increase their knowledge in which hopefully will empower them.

Draft Action Research Project Report

Title

Parental Collaboration Strategies: An action plan

 

Needs Assessment

            A conference was scheduled, and attended by the Principal, Counselors, and the Parent Involvement Officer. The state of parental involvement was addressed, and was concluded that the collaboration between parent-teacher/school should be the focus of this study with the purpose of strengthening the Parent-Teacher relationship. Past parental involvement records were reviewed, which included the attendance to: conferences addressing academic and behavioral issues; and extra-curricular activities (i.e., sporting events, band recitals, field trips). While parental involvement at this level in early childhood education (1^st and 2^nd Grade) is minimal, the need to maintain and strengthen the established relationships between parent-teacher-student is paramount, with the hopes that these relationships will grow and carry on throughout the Child’s education well into her/his college education. 

 

Objectives and Vision

The main objective of this project is to strengthen the teacher-parent-student relationship through the use of collaboration strategies, with the anticipation that these relationships will carry over, and improve the parental involvement at the middle and high school level. I foresee improved parent-teacher relationships, parent collaboration, and the efficacy in which the parent is utilized when volunteering at school.

 

Review of Literature and Action Research Strategy

            My research started with a search for articles that addressed the parental involvement issue. While going through these articles it was noted that the problem with parental involvement is minimal at the start of elementary and then begins to rise, peaking at the middle school, and then tapering off during high school years. At that moment I started focusing on the underutilization of parental assets (in the form of parents volunteering at school), where the parent is being utilized to do mundane tasks, such as making copies or decorating hallways and doors. During the initial conference it was proposed that the parent should be recruited as volunteers to help with tasks such as making copies, assisting with mail, decorating, etc. It is this type of underutilization that weakens the parent-teacher/school relationship. To further study this phenomena, I searched for full text, peer reviewed articles in this matter. The following articles/books were reviewed:

References

Abdullah, A., Seedee, R., Alzaidiyeen, N., Al-Shabatat, A., Alzeydeen, H., & Al-Awabdeh, A. (2011). An investigation of teachers' attitudes towards parental involvement. Educational Research (2141-5161), 2(8), 1402-1408.

Angelides, P., Theophanous, L., & Leigh, J. (2006). Understanding teacher-parent relationships for improving pre-primary schools in Cyprus. Educational Review, 58(3), 303-316. doi:10.1080/00131910600748315

Clair, L., Jackson, B., & Zweiback, R. (2012). Six Years Later: Effect of Family Involvement Training on the Language Skills of Children From Migrant Families. School Community Journal, 22(1), 9-19.

Cook, B. G., Shepherd, K. G., Cook, S., & Cook, L. (2012). Facilitating the Effective Implementation of Evidence-Based Practices Through Teacher-Parent Collaboration. Teaching Exceptional Children, 44(3), 22-30.

DiSibio, R. A. (1984). Parents: a teacher's partner. Education, 104296-299.

Knopf, H. T., & Swick, K. J. (2007). How parents feel about their child's teacher/school: Implications for early childhood professionals. Early Childhood Education Journal, 34(4), 291-296. doi:10.1007/s10643-006-0119-6

McNaughton, D., & Vostal, B. R. (2010). Using Active Listening to Improve Collaboration With Parents: The LAFF Don't CRY Strategy. Intervention In School And Clinic, 45(4), 251-256.

Meyer, J., Mann, M., & Becker, J. (2011). A Five-Year Follow-Up: Teachers' Perceptions of the Benefits of Home Visits for Early Elementary Children. Early Childhood Education Journal, 39(3), 191-196.

Rainforth, B., & England, J. (1997). Collaborations for inclusion. Education & Treatment Of Children (ETC), 2085-104.

Semke, C., & Sheridan, S. (2012). Family-School Connections in Rural Educational Settings: A Systematic Review of the Empirical Literature. School Community Journal, 22(1), 21-47.

Symeou, L., Roussounidou, E., & Michaelides, M. (2012). "I Feel Much More Confident Now to Talk With Parents": An Evaluation of In-Service Training on Teacher-Parent Communication. School Community Journal, 22(1), 65-87.

Thompson, J. (2011). CEC Strategies to Increase Parent Involvement that Really Work! Retrieved September 11, 2012, from Council for Exceptional Children: http://www.cec.sped.org/AM/ Template.cfm?Section=Home&TEMPLATE=/CM/ContentDisplay.cfm&CONTENTID=6257

 

Articulate the Vision

            The length of this study is one semester. The Principal, Parental Involvement Officer, teachers and office assistants were briefed on the procedures, and possible outcomes of this action research project. During the first parent-teacher conference the parents were informed about the collaboration strategies to be implemented, the potential outcomes and implications, the purpose, and questions or concerns regarding this study were addressed to establish a positive and welcoming parent climate. During the semester open communication with the parents will be maintained in order to present, teach and implement the collaboration strategies. These strategies are based on Strategies to Increase Parent Involvement that Really Work! by Jeffrey Thompson.

Manage the Organization

            The collaboration strategies will be implemented as follows:

1)      Schedule “Parent-only” meetings through the semester to build and maintain parent relationships and maintain parent education.

2)      Provide weekly parent education tips that explain the concepts being taught and provide support materials that allow parents to help at home.

3)      Provide ability-based homework that reinforces the concepts.

4)      Provide parent assignments and a method of communication between parent and teacher.

5)      Provide academic training sessions to encourage parents to volunteer their time in the classroom.

6)      Volunteer parents, and those involved will be asked to participate in the decision-making process in regards to their child’s welfare.

7)      Ask parents to chair and plan family events and class fundraisers, and volunteer to chaperone during field trips. 

 

Manage the Operation

            For this research the focus of the main effort are the strategies. An analysis of the level of parental involvement from previous years will be conducted in order to establish a baseline of measurement. My classroom will serve as the experimental group and the other classrooms as the control groups. Efforts and levels of parental involvement will be recorded and correlated to the performance of their child.  The strategies will be modeled after Jeffery Thompson’s strategies. The analysis of the data is my responsibility. A tentative detailed schedule for the implementation of the strategies will be provided to all involved, and final presentation of results will be presented to the Principal for review. Meetings will be scheduled, as needed, to assess the progress, and address issues that may arise during the implementation of the strategies.

 

Respond to Community Interest and Needs

            The implementation of collaboration strategies may have implications on how the parent is perceived as a partner in the education of their child. The strengthening of parent-teacher relationships is expected and the development of a collaborative culture between parent, teacher and school may improve the level of parental involvement at the middle schools. At the end, the children and parents will reap the benefits of a close relationship due to the parent-child collaboration at home and at the schools. The community will benefit from the development of strategies that may transcend from the schools to the places of employment, where the employer may benefit from improved relationships with their employees, leading to a more productive workforce.