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On the national PTA organization’s list of Top 10 Things Teachers Wish Parents Would Do, “be involved” ranks number one. That’s a good thing because that’s what PTA is all about. Parents need to remain involved throughout their child’s academic career, particularly in high school, because preparing for college requires a team effort.
“Parents need to be involved and know that they have a responsibility for the education of their children, and then stay connected,” says Todd Hopkins, a Tempe, Arizona, father of five. “We don’t need to be best friends with the teacher, but we need to connect with them and communicate back and forth. Then the teachers know they can call on us when there’s a challenge.”
Hopkins monitors the performance of his 9th- and 12th-graders by logging onto their high school’s website and accessing their grades on exams and assignments using their student identification numbers. Two of his children have individual education plans (IEPs), and he periodically e-mails their teachers to make sure his children are progressing as expected.
Heather Ellis, a first grade teacher in Arlington, Virginia, welcomes parent involvement in her classroom. She invites parents to read books to the children, share information about their cultures, or demonstrate hobbies, such as sewing or cooking. “It brings a sense of community and that’s my goal,” she says.
Recognizing that teachers have heavy workloads, Tina Panis, a mother of two elementary school children in Los Angeles, California, offers to help her children’s teachers in the classroom by cutting and pasting, reading a book to the class, or handling other useful tasks. “I do think it’s really important that the parents get involved. It benefits the teacher and benefits the parent, and foremost it benefits the children,” Panis says.
To maintain strong home-school connections, teachers should keep parents informed through regular notices, newsletters and progress reports, and parents should set aside time to review them, teachers and parents say.
Encouraging personal responsibility is a primary goal for high school teachers, who are preparing their students for college. Gerry Skinder, a high school English teacher in Winchester, Massachusetts, holds one-on-one conferences with students who need to improve their grades. “The strangest and most unnatural relationship in world is to see your teacher as an adversary. I want you to do well,” Skinder says. It’s frustrating for him when a student assumes he or she is locked into a certain grade. “I’m looking for the breakthroughs. I want to give you an A.”
Parents can bolster the teacher’s efforts to promote personal responsibility by reinforcing those expectations at home. “I feel it's our role as parents to support, guide and encourage responsible behaviors, so our children will meet the goals that have been set by teachers,” says Deborah Stueckel, the parent of a high school junior in St. Louis, Missouri. “By doing this, parents are supporting the teachers.”
Although students are expected to assume more responsibility in high school, parents still need to remain involved. Stueckel and her husband stay in touch with her daughter’s teachers via telephone and e-mail to monitor her progress. “We feel that it is very important to have contact with teachers throughout the year,” she says. “We have also asked for tools to help her along if she needed extra attention in certain subjects.”
While high school teachers typically communicate their expectations directly to students, it is important to involve parents when concerns persist. Skinder says he’s always upfront with parents. “I go out on a limb. I will tell a parent if I don’t think a child is on track for what will allow them to succeed in college,” he says. “I commonly say it is very difficult for a student to gain greater self-discipline in the face of greater temptation. If they don’t have discipline by the time they leave high school, the chances of succeeding in college are not usually good.”
The PTA can play a key role in building productive and successful relationships between parents and teachers. Dee Maclean, who helped found her local PTA in Hamilton, Montana, nine years ago, relied on the PTA’s existing programs, such as Teacher Appreciation Week, to bring parents and teachers together. Maclean is now president-elect of the Montana State PTA Board.
“Family nights, which feature family enrichment activities and meals, are ideal for encouraging parents to visit the school, get involved with their child’s education, and interact with his or her teachers,” Maclean says. For example, at the PTA’s science fair, families learned how they could conduct simple science experience at home with everyday objects.
At the school in Palmdale, California, where Darrell Hrabik teaches 3rd grade, teachers and families get together for “family restaurant night” at a local restaurant that has agreed to offer discounts to PTA members on the designated evening. “It’s a great time for teachers and families to interact with each other,” he says.
The PTA’s “Three for Me” program, in which parents pledge three hours of time to their child’s education during the school year, also can work to involve more teachers in the PTA, says Maria DeWald, immediate past president of the New York State PTA. “Breaking things down into doable pieces like that reflects a real caring about developing a partnership and also a real caring about each other’s needs.”
For high school students embarking on the daunting process of college selection and admissions, PTAs can facilitate communication between school faculty and parents. Maclean suggests PTAs host workshops for parents at which guidance counselors can provide information, suggest resources and field questions. PTAs can also invite parents to visit the school to talk about their careers to groups of students, DeWald says.
The high school that Stueckel’s daughter attends offers college preparedness meetings twice a year. The talks, presented by the principal and guidance counselors, cover everything from preparing for the SAT to completing college applications.
“I like making a difference in my kids’ lives,” says Jonni Conway, who is the teacher representative on the PTA at her son’s school in Cloverdale, California, as well as PTA president at her daughter’s school. “I like the fact that they know I’m doing this for them. I want them to know I consider their education a priority.”
Fostering their students’ academic success is a top priority for teachers, as well, says Heather Bitter, a 5th grade teacher in St. Charles, Missouri. “I really do care about what happens to them and their future,” she says of her students. “If we work together as a team, we can accomplish the most for your child and set them up for success.”
Natalie Schwartz is the author of The Teacher Chronicles: Confronting the Demands of Students, Parents, Administrators and Society (Laurelton Media, 2008).
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