Blog 4

I have interacted with several families during my observations. This is nice because you have interactions with the families every day. You can communicate with them daily face to face. While talking one mother I found that she is a single working mother. She does her best to come in and volunteer with her child in the classroom but doesn't always have time because of her work schedule. She feels it is important to bring him to school and pick him up that way if she has any concerns she can bring them up to the teacher right away and the same for the teacher. She like for the teachers to send things home with her child so that she can interact and work on things at home that connect to things that they are doing in the classroom so that she is a part of his education. She tries to make as many school functions as possible such as family fun nights, parent meetings, parent teacher conferences, and home visits.

Another meeting I attended was on the 2/20/13  where parent had a chance to meet with the director and the parent liason  "Coffee with the Director " this meeting the director holds the third Wednesday of each month is an informal meeting with parents. The principal engages in school updates and small talk with parents that are able to attend from 7a.m. to 9a.m. At this meeting the Director  shared updates with parents regarding upcoming meeting or workshops that parents are welcome too,  and the goal she wants the school to meet of 90% parent attendance, Four parents (including myself) were in attendance.

I like the fact that the Director makes the time once a month to meet with parents to share updates and answer any questions they may have. Although, it would be better if she could meet with parents once a month in the evening where probably more parents would attend.

I think it is important for school leaders such as the Director  and the parent coordinator along with the new parent representatives to be physically present if not once a month every other month when parents are attending parent meetings. This sends parents a message of collaboration and that they care enough to be there after hours (which is when most parents are available) to hear them, their concerns and to support them.

Another insight or observation I made at both meetings I attended was that there were no introduction of the meeting attendees and I think this is so important when you begin any meeting by acknowledging your participants and thanking them for taking the time out of their busy schedules to attend such meetings. If schools want to increase and or promote parent involvement then it is important that they feel acknowledged and welcome.

BLOG 3

For this module I was able to meet with the Director.  Something that I learn was that the Director has an undergrad certification in early childhood education. She has 7 years of experience in K-1st grade and 5 years experience in administration.

I asked the Director questions regarding parent involvement. I learned that these years the Director as well as the teachers have set two school goals when it comes to parent engagement or parent involvement.  One is that 90 % of parents will attend family events such as parent conference, literacy night and end of the year festival, etc. Second goal is that every classroom will host at least two parent events / activities anytime throughout the year. I was really impressed to hear that the teachers are on board with hosting two events for their class. The Director  hosts a monthly "coffee with the director " and meets with parents to hear from them and relates messages to the parent coordinator.

The director mention she has an open door policy, the school has a website that is updated regularly, and she is responsible for overseeing the goals for parent engagement. Another goal she will be working on is how to reach out to get the parents involved in volunteer in the toddler and preschool classroom.   She shared that the more involved parents are those of the children in the head start program.

It was a good interview and I got some pretty good insight of some of the schools strengths and challenges when it comes to parent involvement from a center perspective.  I also got good ideas to bring back in to my workplace on the different activities that we can provide to parents where they can meet with their child’s teacher.

BLOG 2

The last two week I have observed and interacted with the administration portion of the school.  The director and the parent liaison, It was nice to kind of bounce around and observe others interacting with families and staff.  Also, being able to hear others views on not just quality but how centers should operate as a whole. Last week at the center they had a parent workshop related to literacy  and it sad to say but  only four parents attened to the workshop. 

In the evening I had a chance to observed and interacted with other parents in my niece classroom. She is in the preschool grade.
Parents were welcomed promptly at 5:30p.m and encouraged to go to their children classroom and partake in the activities that the teachers had prepared for the event related to math. This was a time planned for parents to come in and interact with their children teacher and ask how their children is/are coming along.
For the most it seemed their wasn’t a big turn out and it was also raining that late afternoon / evening. Sometimes getting out of work late, traffic and bad weather can pose barriers for parents to make it to an event.

Interview Blog

 I have interviewed a Director and our site Parent Liaison. The advocacy topic I predict that I will be working on for my final paper will be on parent involvement. I was inspired to focus on parent involvement because I believe that there is a need for more parent involvement and participation in their child’s early education Due to the Lack of parental involvement in our Child Care Centers. Parents are working or in school or both and are unable to volunteer during the day and are too tired in the evenings to stay or come to meetings. Parents who also have other children at home are also in a rush to get home and prepare for dinner and/or child care.

While there are many areas that one can choose from to promote advocacy, I think that advocating for more parent participation in their child’s education is a good place to start. This way the more parents become educated and guided, there is a better chance of them becoming informed and empowered to be proactive in their child’s education now and in the future.

Insights I gained from my interview with the Director and the Parent Liaison as well as specific related topics include but are not limited to; challenges or barriers as to why some parents do not or are not able to partake in their child’s school functions, events or academics; different ways that parents can be involved at school and at home; cultural aspects; possible language barriers etc. We also talked about some possible ideas of tapping into parents skills / talents as a way of swaying them into the school or classroom.

I will meet again with the Parent liaison to gather more insight regarding her work with the school families as well as try to assess strengths and needs from her perspective on this topic.

Hello 411

My name is Vanessa Gonzalez and I am currently working towards my Bachelors degree here at Kendall.  I am in my last two quarters at Kendall.  I can hardly believe that I will finally fulfill my dream of earning my degree in Early childhood education.