I’m working with the insanely smart and dedicated women over at The Mission List to talk about a subject that is near and dear to my heart: education. Specifically, how YOU choose to get involved at your child’s school. I’m especially excited to get your feedback, because often the assumption is that young parents don’t care or don’t know how to get involved on behalf of their child’s education. But from what I’ve witnessed here, I know it’s not true.
-
How would you improve communication channels between parents and teachers/administrators at your child’s school?
My school does a decent job of reaching out to parents. Our principal is always out and about and if you come up to the school at any point during the day, you will run into her and she will greet you by name. There are newsletters and email listservs that keep you in the loop about upcoming events. Plus, each teacher my children have had is very good about returning phone calls and emails. At their school, I have no complaints.
Do you feel the same? Is there anything you would change about the communication at your child’s school?
-
What does it take to motivate you to advocate or take action on an educational issue (local, state, and/or national)?
After Sandy Hook, the local police department sent one officer to be stationed at each school during the school day. My daughter was terrified. One day as I was dropping her off, she started crying in the backseat, saying police officers had guns and that frightened her. I asked my daughter if anyone explained to her why she was seeing cops in the hallways. Surely they understood that students might need an explanation on why they know having armed police officers in the school. But no. There was no assembly, no announcement. Just show up to school and now there’s cops.
I had spoken to administrators and they agreed with my position. The next day there was an all-school assembly where the police officer assigned to the school spoke with the children and allowed them to ask questions. My daughter came home from school with a smile on her face and there were no more tears at drop off.
This is but a small example of advocacy, but I’d love to hear your stories. When have you had to advocate on behalf of your child’s education, whether it was a local, state, or national issue?