Building Bridges Between School and Home - Center for Literacy ...

ate how much information parents are given. Especiallyif you are trying to help parents developnew understanding or new skills, you may want toschedule several events and break up the contentinto manageable chunks.• Communication is key. Parents want to knowwhat is happening with their children. They wantto know how their children are progressing. Oftenthey want to understand the expectations for children,and how their children compare with othersat each grade level.• It’s important to be honest with parents abouthow their children are doing. At the same time,recognize that the child is more than just his or heracademic performance. Every child is a whole personwith many gifts, and helping parents put thingsin perspective is important. A child may strugglein one area, but perform beautifully in another.Whatever a teacher’s message is to parents, it mustbe truthful, sincere, and caring.• When you ask for parents to help children, bespecific. “Emma needs help with her reading” isn’tas useful to parents as “Please go with Emma to thelibrary each week this summer, check out a bookshe likes and take turns reading with her for 30minutes every day”.What did we learn about how schooladministrators and others can supporteducators who are trying to increaseparent involvement?Principals, district personnel, university faculty andothers working with educators to increase familyinvolvement can really make a difference with theirsupport. We’ve learned that there are specific andpowerful ways that administrators and others canhelp teachers move forward with family involvement.• Let teachers know you value family involvement.Talk about family involvement and encourageteachers to share success stories, as well as challenges.• Look for places where several interested educatorscould come together on a regular basis tolearn more about parent involvement. Invite auniversity to host a class for teachers on the topic,or find a teacher with experience to lead a studygroup.• Be flexible and recognize that teachers will takedifferent approaches to family involvement. Familyinvolvement includes a lot — and teachers cancome up with their own ideas. Support them intheir chosen projects. Help them learn and growin expertise.• Support teachers as they take risks to involveparents more deeply. Notice their efforts. Talkwith them about it, and let them know you supportthem.BUILDING BRIDGES BETWEEN SCHOOL AND HOME: STORIES OF SUCCESS FROM LAWRENCE COUNTY, TENNESSEE12