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COLLABORATION WITH PARENTS AND FAMILIES

Every student in my classroom is the center of an intricate web of relationships with

families, peers, teachers, coaches, or other adults. I value my role in capitalizing upon this

network of connections as a means of providing support for my students. This involves building

a connection not only with parents, but also fostering a sense of community within the school

family.

As an early primary teacher, many of my students and their families are new to the school

environment. Students are forming their understanding of what it means to be a student:

reflecting on learning, taking in new information, practicing self-regulation, and managing

personal relationships. Parents are also forming an understanding of what happens in the

classroom, what skills their child uses throughout their day, the tasks their child is expected to

accomplish, and how their child interacts with their teachers and peers. This level of expectation

can be daunting for some families, which highlights the importance of communicating these

expectations with context and care. Establishing positive and constructive relationships with

parents starts with a focus on the shared objective of student well-being. When my parents trust

that I have the best interest of their child in mind, they are more receptive and willing to support

the work that is happening in our classroom. The effort put forth in establishing quality parent-

teacher relationships yields valuable returns, as parents who feel positively about their child’s

teacher are more readily involved with their children’s academic and behavioral performance in

the classroom (Perez & Lopez, 2017)

Family-teacher relationships can also foster parent involvement as contributors to their

child’s academic success. By providing parents with information on what their children are

learning and the context in which these skills are taught can empower parents as they assist their
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children academically (Hill&Taylor, 2004). My project “Alaska Kids Read!”, illustrates my

commitment to connecting parents to their children’s literacy education. The pamphlet is

intended to provide parents with a basis and structure for reading with children. The information

is coupled with a participatory exercise for both parents and children. As we read a book

together, parents see what it looks like to ask questions, to engage in literacy-related

conversation, and help decode words. As parents take time to participate in the learning process,

they are modeling the value of literacy to our young readers.

At the time this project was implemented, I was volunteering at the library in a small

community during the summertime. My group was small, multi-aged, and our time together was

relatively informal. Now that I am teaching in a larger school district, I have the opportunity to

use this structure in a more direct fashion. This format is ideal for a parent night early in the

year, or as a lesson during a “bring your parent to school” day. Parents can see a Language Arts

lesson, explore the materials that we use in class, and gain an understanding of what their child’s

classroom experience looks like. Events like these can provide context to help facilitate parent to

child discussions at home. These home-based, school related conversations have a positive

impact on student achievement (McNeal, 2014).

Projects like this have an additional benefit in that they help to build relationships

between parents, teachers, and schools. Family presence in schools can facilitate communication

between teacher and parent. Teachers benefit by building relationships that support their

students, and parents have a lens through which to more fully appreciate their child’s experience

in the school setting (Carlisle, Stanley, and Kemple, 2006) Parent involvement in non-academic

school activities, such as carnivals, performances, and family nights are opportunities to foster

these relationships. These activities can establish positive social relationships between school
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staff, families, and the community as a whole. The goal of these interactions is to foster a

positive connection between community and staff, furthering a collective motivation for student

success (Preston, 2003).

When students, parents, teachers, and community work together, we provide our students

with support in their academic and social endeavors. Students can benefit from the power of the

collective network, and their growth extends well beyond the hallways of the school.
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REFERENCES

Carlisle, E., Stanley, L., Kemple, K. (2006) Opening Doors: Understanding School and Family

Influences on Family Involement. Early Childhood Education Journal 11(3). 155-162.

Hill, N., Taylor, L. (2004). Parental School Involvement in Children’s Academic Achievement:

Pragmatics and Issues. Current Directions in Psychological Science 13(4) 161-164

McNeal, R., (2014). Parent Involvement, Academic Achievement, and the Role of Student

Attitudes and Behaviors as Mediators.. Universal Journal of Educaional Research 2(8)

564-576

Pérez White, C., López Levers, L. (2017). Parent-Teacher Engagement during Child-Centered

Pedagogical Change in Elementary School. Children and Schools 39(1) 15-24.

Preston, J. (2013). Community Involvement in School: Social Relationships in a Bedroom

Community. Canadian Journal of Education. 36(3) 413-437.