Truth #4: It is important to treat parents as partners instead of clients.

Research shows that despite any problems parents may have, they still know their children better than anyone else and can be vitally important school partners if they are allowed to be.  Rather than identifying deficits and dysfunctions in a family, a more effective method would focus on strengths and build on the inherent resilience of the community.  Anne Bouie, a parent involvement expert with decades of experience states "The answer is to stop treating parents like 'clients' and start treating them like partners in the task of helping children learn.


She says that when we view parents as clients, we expect them to respect us, listen carefully to us, answer the questions we ask them, respect our expertise and follow our advice. When we see parents as partners, we listen to each other, share ideas and respect each other's unique experience and expertise; we develop plans together and stay in touch as we carry them out.  Partners do not diminish themselves by working together.  They reinforce one another and create synergy from their different strengths.


Despite the way parents sometimes appear on the surface, the huge majority love their children, want the very best education for them and are worthy partners to work with educators.  Most parents are doing the best they know how to obtain this. Between birth and high school graduation, only about 15% of a child's life is spent learning at school, the rest of the time is somewhere else, primarily at home with their parents.


At LES, we are doing everything we can think of to help parents at home with their children.  If you have other ideas/ways to help parents, please share.  Summer is coming.  Mrs. Woodruff always offers a library day so that we can keep kids reading with their parents.  What are some other summer activities to keep our parents as partners in learning with their child that we could offer to make June and July a time to keep learning productive?

Truth #3: Communication with parents must be carefully planned and two-way.

As important as newsletters, calendars, notes, and even the school website are in providing information to parents (and they are helpful), you do not have true communication with parents unless you get some feedback.  You have to know the people you are talking to and find ways to connect.  With parent conferences (usually requested by the teacher) and our Leader In Me  Student Led conferences, we have established more communication with our parents.  Utilizing our Voice to Voice contact each semester has also helped to foster good communication.

Today's parents are known as "Generation X".  Here are a few characteristics of Generation X:

• They have grown up hearing about "failing schools".
• They don't trust institutions to always do what is right; they don't trust that their children are always safe at school.
• They expect to communicate instantly with you.
• They expect a well designed web site with information on ways they can help their children succeed.
• They expect to hear about school problems immediately--along with what is being done about them.
• They value their time very highly and don't want it wasted with school activities that don't directly involve them or their child.

Tips for Newsletters for Parents to boost "readership":

• Standardize one design and stick with it.  Two or three columns are often easier to read than a single wide one.
• Use an attractive newsletter nameplate to reflect the professionalism of your school or class.
• Use simple, plain language and limit the newsletter to one sheet of paper.

Out of all of the various ways we provide information to our parents at LES, which one do you feel promotes effective communication (parent feedback) and why?  Are there any other "avenues" of communication you feel that we should incorporate to promote feedback from parents?