Parent Engagement Night: Building Community

CCE Climate CommitteeSeptember 23, 2014

CCE Climate Committee

Each school in DJUSD is to have a climate committee as mandated by district policy:

• To assist the principal in assessing school climate• To identify and evaluate current school programs directed at improving climate• To propose, develop, and implement programs supporting the district's core value of respect among all• To further a better understanding of differences among students, parents, and staff

CCE Climate Committee

Committee projects:• Playground play scape redesign• Annual climate surveys• Parent resource library• First Grade parent lunch time volunteers• Parent engagement nights

Parent Engagement

• Research demonstrates that parent/involvement significantly contributes to improved student outcomes.

• All of us—students, parents, teachers, administrators, and communities—benefit from parent engagement in schools.

• Federal and state law requires parent engagement practices as “compliance” to receive funding for public schools.

Benefits for Students

• Higher achievement, better attendance, and more homework completed consistently.

• Higher graduation rates and enrollment rates in post-secondary education.

• More positive attitudes toward school.

Benefits for School Staff

• Greater teaching effectiveness.• Higher expectations for all students.

• Increased ability to understand family views and culture backgrounds.

• Greater appreciation of parent volunteers.

• Improved morale.

Benefits for Families

• Greater knowledge of education programs and how schools work.

• Knowledge of how to be more supportive of children.

• Greater confidence about how to help children learn.

• More positive view of teachers.• Greater empowerment.

Benefits for Communities• Stronger ties between communities and schools.

• Greater impact of services through comprehensive, integrated approach.

• Increased access to services for families.

Barriers to Engagement

• Lack of a school environment that supports parent/family involvement.

• School practices/policies that do not accommodate the diversity of family needs.

• Child care/work constraints.• Families’ past negative experiences with schools and/or feelings of uncertainty about “treading on school territory.”

• Feelings of inadequacy associated with difference in income or education.

• Uncertainty about what to do.

Requirements for Parent Engagement

Parents are more likely to become involved when they:• Understand they should be involved.• Realize they are making a contribution.• Feel invited by the school.

How to build engagement

Tips for Building Community and Positive School Climate

Positive school climate begins at home:• Is the morning routine stressful? Does your student routinely come to school unhappy?

• Prioritize healthy eating and balance• Make nightly debriefings mandatory, move beyond the “How was school today” narrative.

Tips for Building Community and Positive School Climate

Know who is in your student’s orbit:• Does my student’s teacher know who I am?• Who does my child play with at school? • Do I know the parents in my child’s class or grade level?

• Do I feel comfortable approaching another parent if there is an ongoing issue between our children? Could I do so without jumping to conclusions or judgment?

Tips for Building Community and Positive School Climate

Parents need to be involved too!• Do I have a community of parents at CCE I can call on for help or advice?

• How can I be proactive to make a supportive parent community?

• Am I modeling positive behavior to my student while at CCE? Do I judge other parents or students?

• Within my own limits of time and energy, am I participating at CCE in programs that help foster community?

Tips for Building Community and Positive School Climate

Promote social justice and diversity:• Do I talk to my student about inclusion and difference in an age-appropriate way?

• Do we talk about standing up for others who are being treated unfairly and why it is everyone’s responsibility to do so?

• Do I reinforce these ideas with my own behavior?

Monthly Spirit Days

Friday, September 26Crazy Hat Day

Next Parent Engagement Nights

• Wednesday, January 21 • Thursday, April 9