REACHING ONE FAMILY AT A TIME

           

           Schools will celebrate National Parent Involvement Day November 17^th this year. Great! A special day for promoting parents being more involved in their children’s educations. Count me in! But I’ll be honest; there is a part of me that thinks it a shame there is even a need for a National Parent Involvement “day”. I know many of you share this sentiment…

Why is it the responsibility of educators to motivate parents to be more involved? Why can’t this be something schools can assume will automatically happen? It’stheir children after all, not ours. Shouldn’t it be a given all parents will choose to be as involved as possible? The sad reality is no. Reasons vary (a topic for another column) but that’s why there’s a need a National Parent Involvement “day”.

When I travel to do workshops for schools, I hear educators from all corners of our nation express frustration over the time and effort they put into implementing parent involvement plans only to get disappointing results. I’m listening and I understand!

I want to encourage all of you not to give up! Don’t lose your enthusiasm for promoting parent involvement. Use this special day to remind yourselves that you ARE making a difference, one family at a time!

There are children right now at your school whose parents are MIA. This fact-of-life is not their fault. It is for these children, most at-risk, that you cannot give up the good fight! We all know what the research says about the direct correlation between positive student outcomes and parent involvement. It makes a huge difference. So continue your diligent efforts to create family-friendly schools and to do all you can to get more parents involved, especially those parents who are hardest to reach.

The next time you have only a handful of parents show for a family night; don’t be discouraged more didn’t show. Focus on the ones who did show. Use the small group setting as an opportunity to really get to know individual families. Use the time to build meaningful relationships. If you reach just one family this year and give them the tools they need to help their children succeed long-term, you’ve done a very worthwhile deed! You’ve essentially altered the course of a child’s life and opened up windows of opportunities that were once closed. So let’s be encouraged on National Parent Involvement Day and remember we are making a difference in children’s lives ONE FAMILY AT A TIME!