Strategies for Keeping Parents Informed
Sharing information about the program with parents is the responsibility of the program director and of every member of the staff. The responsibility begins before the child enters care and continues as the child is enrolled. With today’s busy lifestyles and multicultural communities, many programs fid that they need to use several different approaches to keep parents informed and engaged.
Reflective Question
What strategies could you implement in your setting to increase parent involvement and make in more meaningful?
Making Families Feel Welcome
Parents should feel welcome in the program at all times. They might linger at drop-off or pick- up time, come regularly to nurse a baby, join their child for lunch, stop in for a quick visit, or volunteer in the classroom. Whether they feel wanted will depend not only on the program’s policies but also on how those policies are implemented and communicated. Program that are especially welcoming to families find families to be an enormous asset.
Here are some strategies that can make diverse families feel comfortable:
Welcome fathers as well as mothers and other family members. Introduce them to the other parents as well as to the children. Keep them informed, encourage their participation, and seek their advice.
Make sure the center or family child care home reflects the families it serves. Parents should see representations of their cultures, dominant languages, and neighborhoods, as well as their child’s work, photographs, and family mementos.
Provide appropriate seating for adult guests and welcome them to join in classroom activities.
Provide a parent room, family bulletin board.
First greet parents by their formal names, and then ask them how they would like to be addressed and introduced.
Let parent know that you will be available for individual conferences, if they would like to set up an appointment.
Parent Handbook
Providing a parent handbook is a good way to answer parents’ questions and address common concerns. Items to include in a parent handbook include the following.
The history of the program and its educational philosophy
Program accreditation or other awards for excellence
Information on policies, hours, fees, enrollment procedures, lunches, snacks, late arrival and pick- up, sick child and bad weather policies, and the like
Lists of supplies and clothing that parents are expected to bring, such as diapers, a change of clothes, and outdoor clothing for cold rainy weather
Frequency of reporting to parents, parent/teacher conferences, phone conversations, home visits, and so on
A schedule and description of parent meetings and other family activities
A section with frequently asked questions and concise answers on the program’s philosophy and policies
A sample daily schedule for each age group
Volunteer opportunities, including parent board and committees
Important phone number and email addresses (Some centers and family child care homes also include parent contact information with the parents’ permission.)
Newsletters
Regularly distributing a newsletter or posting updates and class notes on a website is another excellent way to communicate with parents. (Remember to make the site secure if you plan to use children’s names or share their photos, to get written parental permission ahead of time.) It demonstrates the program’s concern for sharing information and reaches parent who might otherwise have little direct contact with the teachers. Items that may be included in the newsletter are as follows:
Information on field trips special events
Notification of meetings
Requests for donations of useable materials
Requests for volunteers and expressions of recognition and gratitude to those parents who have assisted in the program
Craft suggestions or curriculum extensions parents can try at home
Reports on school “happenings”
Introductions of new staff members
Tips for teaching skills at home
Recipes for nutritious snacks
Weekly menus so that parents can plan complementary home meals
A special “Parent” section with articles provided by parents
Information about community events, issues, and campaigns affecting young children
Parent Meetings
Large-group parent or family meetings should be held on a regular basis. These meetings provide opportunities for parents to meet, share ideas, discuss problems, and learn from each other. They also serve as a vehicle for communicating effectively with many people at one time. Here are some suggestions for organizing group meetings:
Notify parents and include RSVP card that can be mailed or e-mailed back or dropped in a box at the program. This way, you will have an ideas of the number of people who will attend, and can follow up with those who don’t respond.
Survey the parents for the best times to meet. Schedule evening as well as daytime meetings to ensure maximum attendance. Some programs fine that pick-up or drop-off times or Saturday meetings work best.
Provide child care for all children who might come.
Provide refreshments.
Develop the program according to the needs of s, and involve parents in the planning:
Offer information about the program and curriculum.
Showcase children’s work and provide hands-on experience with activities they have enjoyed.
Present speakers on topics parents request.
Offer fun activities, like a potluck breakfast or supper at which all family members are welcome.
Evaluate meetings formally using an anonymous questionnaire that parents submit at the end of the meeting and informally through the “grapevine.” Use the information gained from the evaluations to plan the content of subsequent meetings.
Parent as Volunteers
The use of parent volunteers has an impact in two important areas: It can supply an extra pair of hands for center activities, and it can provide a systematic way to involve those parents who have special skills or talents or who enjoy donating their time and working with children. (Centers or licensing policies may require parents to receive background checks before volunteering with children.)
You can recruit volunteers at the time of initial enrollment, through regular contact with parents, and by using a parent activity chart. Place a simple sing-up list on the bulletin board, enlisting parents’ help as volunteers and offering them a choice of dates, times, and types of contributions.
Parents can help by doing any of the following:
Sharing something from their work or cultural heritage
Arranging for visitors whose work is related to something the children are investigating
Reading to the children
Introducing special activities
Helping with activities like cooking woodworking, and field trips require extra supervision
Making educational games and toys for the classroom
Fundraising
Serving on parent committees, such as long-range planning, diversity, fundraising, evaluation, and policy committees
Coordinating parent/teacher activities and classroom celebrations
Helping with the newsletter and other communications
Translating for other families
Bringing in recycled materials and items that can be used for srt projects and pretend play or to make toys and games
Preparing meals and snacks
Sharing family photos
Loaning books, toys and other materials
Helping to repair books, toys and other materials
Helping with clean-up days, gardening, and playground repair
Sharing special talents
Recruiting, interviewing, and evaluating teachers
Planning the curriculum and special projects
Ensuring that the center’s policies are family friendly
Letting others know about the program’s special strengths
Completing parent surveys that provide program feedback (such as those required for accreditation)
Serving as liaisons to other parents
Letting teachers know about their children’s interests, friendships, concerns, and perceptions of school experiences
In forming the school about community events of interest to families with young children
Participating in advocacy
Letting teachers know when they have done an especially good job
Parents are almost always helpful. Occasionally, however, their involvement can create problems. This can be minimized planning:
If you are counting on a parent to come in for a special activity or field trip, confirm it the previous day or evening.
Remind parents who plan to help in the classroom or office that all information about children and families is confidential.
Resolve any disagreements over educational philosophy or classroom management in private, not in front of the children.
If a parent’s presence in the classroom is disruptive or her child is unduly upset when she leaves, hold a parent conference to discuss the pattern and work out a solution.