Blog Post #2

     I interviewed the two teachers in the Pre-K 2 classroom about their perspective on advocacy. What I found was astounding to me. I found that we were passionate about some of the same issues. There were many instances where they had to advocate for their parents. These instances involved childcare financial issues, children that were suspected or diagnosed with disabilities and not receiving services, and also parents that needed services or skills where the center could be of help with the equipment that they already possess. I found this interesting. But the main topic I wanted to focus on was why are they having such a hard time getting the parents involved. Ms. Janice and Ms. Shari feels that they wish they had a better relationship with their parents and they really want to know what can they do to show their parents that they want to build positive relationships with them.
    
     The Headstart program requires that parents volunteer throughout the year but Ms. Janice stated that it really isn't enforced that the parents come in to volunteer. The only time she really gets to talk with the parents is during parent-teacher conferences and home visits which are done twice a year. The parent-teacher conferences are basically to inform parents about what their child/children are learning and give ideas to help them support their childs/children learning in the home environment. Home visits are basically to see the child in their natural environment and she how he/she interacts at home with mom and dad and their siblings. One of my suggestions I gave them was to schedule conferences with the parents throughout the day, in the mornings or in the evenings. I also stated that it's important to let your parents know that you will be available to them at any time when it's concerning their child's education other then when it's time for parent-teacher conferences. Even sending weekly notes home to the parents may encourage them to get involved.

     Ms. Janice made many suggestions about having family night twice a month so they can get the parents involved and she basically said her idea got shot down because they feel that the parents are not going to coroporate. So I suggested that she don't give up, to keep trying. One way to know if the parents would be interested is to have the parents take a survey and see what their responses would be. So she made up a survey and asked the parents to fill it out and return it back to her on the next day. Ms. Janice was so surprised at the response she got back from the parents and how they would love to participate in a family night and some parents were evening asking why did they wait so long to do something like this. She took all the surveys to the director and sat down with her to figure out what could they do so they can start getting the parents involved. The director Ms. Lee agreed to start having family night which will include food, someone to come out and read to the children, do activities, and have someone to come out to talk with the parents about different topics. They will start out having family night once a month to see what the outcome will be as far as how many families will show up.

     As a teacher it is very frustarting trying to get the parents involved especially when you don't have the coroporation of the staff and the administrators. I explained how important it is for teachers to keep the lines of communication open with their parents. Communication is not just when you're sending newsletters and notes home to the parents its also when you can call a parent and talk with them not just about the negative but a parent would love to get a phone call about the positive things their child is doing and how well they are developing. Ms. Janice wants to make positive changes within the center with starting with parent involvement. In order for this to be successful the center as a whole needs to jump on board and is fully dedicated and committed to making this work. I have learned a lot from observing Ms. Janice and Ms. Shari in these last two weeks and I hope my suggestions and ideas will help their program in the area of parent involvement.