"Reflecting" in order to move forward with Parent Engagement

In order to move any initiative, program, or practice forward you must always begin with the “reflection” piece. As a reflective practitioner I am using part of the summer to learn more about and reflect upon the parent engagement piece of the total school community here at Francis Howell Middle School. To help me with this reflection, I’ve joined 99 other educators from around the world. We are participating in a six week intensified book study. We are gleaning our understanding from Anne Henderson and Karen Mapp, authors of Beyond the Bake Sale.

Joe Mazza is leading out and facilitating our study via #PTcamp, Voxer, GoogleDocs, and ApprenNet.  We’ve learned that there are four types of schools: Partnership School, Open-Door School, Come If-We-Call School, and the Fortress School. The chart below, from Beyond the Bake Sale, provides a clear explanation of each type of school.

In moving our school forward to become a full-fledged Partnership School, we must do the following:

·         Review the current role of our parents within the school setting in the areas of: Volunteering, Student-Led Conferences, Parent Development, Building-wide leadership (Building Improvement Group), Celebrations, Fund Raising, and Community Service.

·         Assess, review, and evaluate PTO and its role within the school

o   How can we take PTO to the next level?

·         Assess, review, and evaluate the Parent Involvement Team (PIT). Our PIT team is part of the National Network of Partnership Schools with Johns Hopkins University.

o   How can we take PIT to the next level?

·         Develop and implement a long-range plan

o   Set it into motion utilizing the skills, talents, and knowledge of each school community group.

This reflection, a growing and changing process, will  take time. In looking at the next three to five years, we can begin now by reflecting on our current practices so that we can move towards becoming a Partnership School.  I am looking forward in engaging as many parents, staff, students, and community members in this process. After all, shouldn’t we include our parents in the “complete” educational experience of their children?