Currently, I am well on my way with my Action Research Plan. I have already recognized that some of the activities will need to be modified based on changes from the administrators. We discussed and agreed upon all teachers contacting every student in their class to try and reach them and invite them to our upcoming events. Unfortunately, this was no longer a mandate and was changed to a “strong urge” from the administrators. I was able to talk with at least one person in each grade level to ask them if they would make calls and keep track of them for my review. We are going to have at least one class per level who will keep notes and follow the original plan. I am going to compare the results from these classes to the rest of the grade level to determine if there were any major differences noted from the outreach!
All of our Student/Parent/Teacher compacts have been created and sent home for signature. Most of our students have returned these and received a copy for their home. We refer to these compacts often as we want them to understand the importance of what they signed and what a compact actually is and means.
The tracking chart has been created and is displayed in every single classroom in our school. The kids are paying attention to these based on the feedback from the teachers. We did have a number of teachers express their concern that this could embarrass a child should their parents not show up to anything. We are not out to humiliate or punish the child. We are going to add additional options such as Tuesday folder returned each week as one of the “checkmarks” so all children continue to get a chance for a mark to be made by their name. The chart was up during Open House and many of the parents did notice we were tracking their attendance. We made it clear that this is a partnership and we need them to be a part of school! All in all, it was well received.
All of our Student/Parent/Teacher compacts have been created and sent home for signature. Most of our students have returned these and received a copy for their home. We refer to these compacts often as we want them to understand the importance of what they signed and what a compact actually is and means.
The tracking chart has been created and is displayed in every single classroom in our school. The kids are paying attention to these based on the feedback from the teachers. We did have a number of teachers express their concern that this could embarrass a child should their parents not show up to anything. We are not out to humiliate or punish the child. We are going to add additional options such as Tuesday folder returned each week as one of the “checkmarks” so all children continue to get a chance for a mark to be made by their name. The chart was up during Open House and many of the parents did notice we were tracking their attendance. We made it clear that this is a partnership and we need them to be a part of school! All in all, it was well received.
I am working on getting the initial lists together of which parents did not attend and how many of their children are classified at risk! This is a big piece of our puzzle that we are trying to resolve. Finally, I am working with our parent liaison to try and determine additional efforts that can be made to encourage parent participation.
