grade-level parent meetings. grade-level parent meetings are a great way to build meaningful...
TRANSCRIPT
Beyond Family Learning Nights
Grade-level Parent
Meetings
Grade-level Parent Meetings are a great way to build meaningful relationships with
families. The meetings are a way to:
Welcome families’ presence, participation in learning, and questions.
Honor families’ desire to help children succeed.
Connect families to classroom activities and data, school staff, and each other.
There is a strong correlation between family engagement and student achievement.
When schools
offer specific
programs and
practices to
guide parents,
more families
become engaged
in their
children’s
education in
meaningful ways.
What the research says:
Parents need specific information about how to help their children, including what to do at home to support their children’s academic achievement.
What is a grade-level parent meeting?
Parents meet in
“grade-level teams”
to learn about
curriculum, content
standards, and
classroom practices.
Parents are taught
specific strategies
and activities to
engage in with their
children at home.
They offer an opportunity for parents and teachers to become true partners in children’s learning.
Grade-level Parent Meetings benefit families AND teachers
Parents get:• a deeper understanding of learning goals and classroom data• practical guidelines, tools and activities to use at home to help their children• a collaborative interactive forum to learn, discuss, and engage with one another and with staffThese meetings help
parents and teachers
connect as a supportive
community focused on
the academic
achievement of children.
All About Grade-Level Parent Meetings(Click on a topic to learn more)
What is the structure of a grade-level parent meeting?
How is the content of a grade-level parent meeting planned?
How can the meeting be planned for maximum family engagement?
Ideas for middle and high schools
What is the structure of a grade-level parent meeting? Back to main
Parents gather as a whole group to learn the meeting’s purpose.
Parents participate in a student activity in each classroom. They are taught specific strategies and activities to do with their children at home.
Parents may split into small groups and rotate through classrooms to learn specific information about the evening’s topic or topics. These may include standards, curriculum, and classroom teaching practices.
Parents are invited to ask questions. They complete a survey and take home interactive resources to support the strategies and activities they were taught to do with their children at home.
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Content is planned around student needs. Guiding questions can help you decide what the focus of each meeting should be.
What key concepts do
children have to master at
this grade level?
What role can parents play?
What information and resources do parents need in order to carry out the learning activities at home?
What challenges must the school
address to help families be successful
with the learning activities?
What school and community resources are available to families?
How is the content of a grade-level parent meeting planned?
How can the meeting be planned for maximum family engagement? Back to main
Let parents know at least a month in advance, with weekly reminders. Use technology: • phone (voice and texts)• e-mails• Twitter• website• school-parent newsletter
One teacher e-mailed a photograph of her class holding a “Please Come!” poster. Another teacher asked students to decorate paper invitations.
Make the invitations personal --- from the child and the teacher.
Emphasize parent empowerment. •How can the meetings be structured so that parents
get opportunities to ask questions, give feedback, and swap ideas?•How can ideas, strategies and take-home materials to
support children’s learning be given to parents who could not attend?
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Use meetings to target outreach to underrepresented families or families of at-risk students.
Ask teacher teams from a house/pod or a subject area to target specific learning goals that families can help achieve.
Appoint a personal staff contact for each parent.
Teach parents how to use
new technology and online
resources.
Connect learning goals to career and post-high school education planning.
Break parents into small groups for networking and discussion.
Record the meetings and post online materials for parents unable to attend.
Ideas for middle and high schools
ResourcesHow to Build a Better Parent-Teacher Night: http://www.teachingforchange.org/how-to-build-a-better-parent-teacher-night
Ruth Anne LandsverkFamily-School-Community Partnerships Coordinator DPI Title I Team
(608) [email protected]
Wisconsin Department of Public InstructionP.O. Box 7841Madison, WI 53707-7841
If you have questions or would like to share a best practice used by your school, please contact: