Parents' role in schools urged
By Scott Craven
The Arizona Republic
On the first day of school, Annie Andelfinger is well prepared when she walks into the classroom.
She introduces herself to the teacher and hands over a note card delineating her talents. She also proffers a humorous teacher-related poem, hoping to get this relationship off to a good start in classic apple-polisher style.
This kind of behavior typically would result in a swirly inside the girls' bathroom, but seeing as how Andelfinger is a parent and not a student, her gleeful approach is not only encouraged but respected.
• Kindergarten: In kindergarten, kids are learning such basic skills as cutting with scissors and writing their names. Most teachers appreciate parent volunteers in the classroom to read to children in groups and help keep the lessons moving. Other ideas: Organize a party and bring decorations and food, or visit class and let your child practice making an introduction. • Grades 1-3: Children in the early grades often can use help with reading, and teachers can use a hand with some of the arts and crafts they use with their lessons. Workroom programs are a hit with elementary school teachers — parents can pick up such behind-the-scenes chores as photocopying, laminating and stapling. Others simply help out with special events once or twice a year. Other ideas: Make flashcards for a teacher. Donate some pencils and notebook paper. Arrange to help teach kids basic math skills. • Grades 4-6: Field trips, tutoring and organizing schoolwide events are good ways for parents to plug in at this stage. Other ideas: Make a bulletin board display for a teacher or volunteer in the library or special education classroom. • Grades 7-8: In middle school, helping out with extracurricular activities and athletic events is probably better than trying to volunteer in the classroom. Teachers encourage middle school students to think about career choices and often invite parents to speak about their jobs. Other ideas: Raise money for a field trip, help organize a dance or make sets and costumes for a school play. • Grades 9-12: When their kids reach high school, parents often can help with booster clubs and such extracurricular activities as athletics and band. Other ideas: Make photocopies for the school office or sponsor the cheerleading squad.
The mother of three is a textbook example of the involved parent, personifying the hundreds of studies indicating that students are likelier to excel when Mom and Dad participate in the learning process. Research over the past 20 to 30 years has shown that students whose parents are committed to their education receive higher test scores and grades, take more difficult courses and have fewer attendance problems.
What you can do
But forget any complicated statistics linking test scores with the number of PTA meetings attended. It boils down to this: Andelfinger's 12-, 14- and 15-year-old daughters earned straight A's last year not simply because they are intelligent and dedicated students but because Andelfinger came to know their teachers and helped tailor the methods that would work best with each daughter's learning style.
"First off, I'm better equipped to know how my children learn best," Andelfinger says. "Secondly, if there are any problems, those teachers know me and will come up to me to touch base all the time. It's all about trust."
Although Andelfinger is the Tiger Woods of involvement, to the point of volunteering two or more days a week at school, parents don't have to be regulars in the teachers' lounge to be important factors in the educational process.
Involvement also means letting your children know you are there for them, from helping with their homework to planning a family math night, says Catherine Jordan, head of the National Center for Family and Community Connections With Schools, an Austin, Texas, research organization that explores ways schools can better serve their communities.
Jordan says the numerous studies that correlate parental involvement with students' performances make one thing clear: The most important things parents do for their children's education occur at home.
"Anything done to nurture the learning environment has a big impact on a student's success," Jordan says. "It contributes to a sense of self-confidence on the part of the students, creating a supportive atmosphere. Not all parents have to host a school potluck or donate several hours to a school beautification project."
But parents should establish good working relationships with their children's teachers.
By doing so, they build trust and foster communication, leading to a partnership that greatly benefits students, says Jordan, adding that such relationships can be started with phone calls and e-mails, leading parents to perhaps become more involved.
Louis Laffitte has seen the positive impact parents can have on schooling. Laffitte, principal of a new elementary school in Phoenix, says students show a higher aptitude for learning when parents show interest in what's happening in their schools.
"Education becomes important for the whole family," Laffitte says. "Kids accept the importance of education because parents believe in it. It becomes something that's passed on."
