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Workshop Encourages Parents to Communicate with School, Advocate for Their Children

The parent-created workshop gave parents helpful hints for student success.

Advocate. That was the advice for parents who attended the Montgomery County Public Schools Parent Academy workshop "Can We Talk? Speaking Up for Your Children to Help Them Succeed."

The workshop, which was held at Gaithersburg Elementary School Tuesday night, was designed and developed by the Montgomery County Public Schools Parent Advisory Council. It gave parents tips to effectively communicate with teachers and principals and shared the importance of parent involvement to overall student success.  

Five key tips from the workshop:

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1.  Keep up with the school

Parents were encouraged to stay in contact with the school in the following ways:

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  • Know your child's teachers, counselors and specialists. That includes physical education and music teachers.
  • Get on the principal's radar. Introduce yourself to the principal.
  • Know the best way and best time to contact teachers and principals and stay in touch regularly with brief notes or e-mails.

"The Parent Academy is one of our premiere programs," said Eric Davis, director for the MCPS Department of Family and Community Partnerships and one of the presenters. "It's all about building partnerships between the home and school, of building the capacity of parents to support learning at home."

2.  Keep up with your child

  • Ask your child specific questions about what they are learning at school and set aside time to talk about school matters.

Denise Stultz, a supervisor with the Department of Family and Community Partnerships, recalled questions her mother asked her. Stultz said her mother would ask about the high and low points of her day. Stultz also said parents can ask specific questions such as "Did you go to the library today?" or "What book are you reading?" to help keep track of a child's in-school activities. Parents were also encouraged to ask about homework and any special projects.

3.  Keep track of home-school communication

  • Have a system to organize papers and documents that come from the school.  Checking your child's backpack often is one way to stay aware of notes and newsletters from from the school as well as homework or project assignments. Keeping track of home-school communication also includes keeping a log of phone discussions with teachers and school personnel regarding your child's progress, and a log of appointments and what was discussed at those meetings. 
  • Get to know the different programs available at your child's school and in the wider community--programs such as the Parent Academy Workshops. Attending these free sessions is also a great way to network with other parents. The fall 2010 schedule is available in six different languages.

4.  Have an action plan

  • The Parent Action Plan moves parents from listing concerns about academic progress, to envisioning an ideal situation for a child, to listing specific steps to achieve those goals.  

Eileen Chang of Bethesda found the Parent Action Plan helpful along with the advice on "creating a learning environment at home, going and actually visiting the school often, knowing teachers like the music teacher and the PE teacher, and knowing what my child is doing day by day."  

5.  If you forget any of the above tips, remember to ADVOCATE for your child.

ADVOCATE is an acronym generated by parents who attended a prior "Can We Talk?" workshop.  

Ask questions. 

Do keep an open mind. 

Visit the school, often.  

Organize your thoughts.

Cool, Calm and collected 

Active listening

Take notes.

Encourage children to respectfully speak up for themselves. 

Zoraida Brown, a Fifth-grade teacher at Gaithersburg Elementary School, also found the workshop beneficial even though her children are now in college.  

"As a teacher it is helpful because I can advocate, and help parents advocate.  And as a parent who was a parent of young people who are now in college, it was a wonderful validation that I was doing it."

A more detailed list of Parent Advocacy Tips is found on the Montgomery County Public Schools website.

If you missed Tuesday's event, the Department of Family and Community Partnership is hosting Ask MCPS, on Friday, Oct. 8. Learn about various supports available within the Montgomery County Public School system and get more tips on helping your child succeed. Bilingual staff will be available. There are also two more workshops this fall designed to help parents better communicate with teachers:

"Communicate Successfully with School Staff" on Oct. 11 in Silver Spring, and another "Can We Talk?" workshop will be held on Oct. 24 in Rockville.

 

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