Transcript What did you do in school today?

What did you do in school today?
Keeping Parents Connected
Sandy Graf
April 12, 2013
Middle School
• Most schools consider
middle school to begin
with grade 6 and end
with grade 8.
• Middle school is a time
of adolescence;
therefore, middle
school student
behaviors can also be
found in 4th and 5th
grades.
What is adolescence?
• No standard definition for adolescence
exists.
• In simplistic terms, adolescence can be
defined as the period of transition
between childhood and adulthood.
• Adolescence can also be understood in
terms of physical, social, and cognitive
development.
What is adolescence?
The United States
Department of Health and
Human Services defines
adolescence as the age
span between 10 – 24
years of age.
Susan Graf, my mother,
defines adolescence as the
period in which a parent is
supposed to develop a
dislike for one’s child so
that the child may achieve
independence.
What is adolescence?
Regardless of the
definition one uses,
adolescence is a period
of key development.
Adolescents go
through major
physical, social, and
cognitive changes
during this time
period.
Experience Adolescence . . .
Imagine, once upon a
time your children
were excited to ride
with you. They
chatted away about
their day as soon as
they got in the car.
Experience Adolescence . . .
Almost overnight, you
arrive at the carpool
line and retrieve a
monster.
You ask, “What did you
do today?”
Your adolescent
replies, “Nothing.”
What does adolescence mean for schools?
Unfortunately, the greatest impact of
adolescence on schools is not with the
students themselves. Instead, it is with the
parents of the students.
Parents of adolescents tend be more
disconnected with school than parents of
young children.
This has a negative impact on schools in
several ways.
What does adolescence mean for schools?
Parent involvement is critical
for student success.
In addition, private schools
depend on student
enrollment for funding.
School tuition is
discretionary money for most
families. Parents must feel a
connection to your school to
make the financial sacrifice
of tuition.
What causes parental
disconnect?
• Parents become
disconnected, in part,
because of their personal
struggles with their children.
• They tire of the seemingly
unending conflicts that
revolve around an
adolescent’s desire for
independence.
• They also become
disconnected because that
very desire for independence
means that children do not
communicate with their
parents about school.
How can schools keep parents connected?
The number one way to
keep parents
connected to school is
through
communication.
But. . . adolescents’
backpacks are like
black holes. How can a
school overcome this?
How can schools keep parents connected?
The methods that
worked for
communication with the
parents of elementary
students do not work
well with the parents of
middle school students.
Schools have to think
outside of the box to
reach these parents.
How can schools keep parents connected?
Take advantage of
technology. Try:
• Emailing parents
• Sending text
messages to parents
• Using a phone alert
system
• Using the school
website to
communicate
How can schools keep parents connected?
• Invite parents to
participate in school or
class events. (Admittedly,
this can be a challenge as
the average middle school
student has between 4 – 6
teachers. Schedule
constraints are real.)
• Use technology to send
video clips to parents of
school events to
encourage participation in
lieu of attendance.
• Take photos of class
events and activities and
email them to parents.
How can schools keep parents connected?
Take advantage of
“feel good” school
events to establish a
professional
relationship with
parents.
Parents are eager to
help with these events.
How can schools keep parents connected?
• Balance negative
communication with
positive communication.
• If you have to send an
email to report a concern
(behavior, poor
performance, etc.), make
sure to send an email on
another day to share
something good.
• Do not use “feel good”
events to share concerns
about students.
Communication is Marketing
Communication is key
to parent involvement,
which is critical for:
• student success
• re-enrollment
• job security