Parent Volunteers At Your Child’s School

Parent engagement is vital to the culture of a school. Too often, parent engagement is thought of in terms of getting parents to the school for a presentation, or engaging in a fundraiser to fund new classroom technologies. As we all know, parents are our students’ first teachers, and it is the role of the school to provide opportunities for parents to engage in meaningful ways. Just like our students, all of the parents at a school bring their own set of skills and their own, varied needs. Therefore, parent engagement cannot just be a “one-size-fits-all” approach where parents are invited to campus but never asked to participate in the work of educating our children. A parent engagement program needs to be varied, stimulating, and useful to both school programming and initiatives and also for the parents showing up to support.

Parents Are Valued At Bert Corona Charter School

Over the last few years at Bert Corona Charter School, we have been focusing our our efforts to plan strategically for each school year. Over the summer, our school leadership team dove into our data to analyze our effectiveness in a variety of areas. From our data dive, we identified areas of strength, as well as areas of growth and equity gaps. Before creating our plan, we held focus groups with students, parents, and teachers to help gather feedback about how we could improve. Our effort for the 2024 school year will be to build upon our strengths so we can address our areas of need and gaps as a community. Our YPICS theme this year is From Good to Great: Better Together. We will be working to engage our students, parents, and community members to help us continue to grow as a school community and to support our students on the pathway to success!

Through our work with parents over the summer, we have come up with four major ways in which our parents can get involved to help us continue our efforts to address equity gaps in education and at our school: committee work, regular analysis and feedback sessions, informational/educational workshops, and parents as paras (parents supporting our students in the classroom). This is our current plan for engagement, but many schools and districts have great resources and opportunities for their parents. They may look similar to those at Bert Corona Charter, or they may be slightly different.

Questions To Ask Your Child’s School

No matter what parent engagement looks like at your school, there are questions you can ask your school leaders and staff that will help you engage meaningfully. Depending on where your child’s school is in their parental engagement plan, you may even be able to drive improvements in their parent programming. These questions will help you better understand how your child’s school operates and will help you engage in ways that will be beneficial to your child and the entire school community:

• What opportunities are there for parents to share our voice about educational programming at this school?
• What types of workshops do you offer to help parents support learning at home?
• What does your social-emotional support system look like at this school? What do I need to know to help support my child’s development at home?
• What types of resources can I access to help my child if he/she/they are struggling academically?
• How will progress and outcome data be shared with parents this year?
• When will I have an opportunity to speak with my child’s teacher(s)? How can support success in the classroom?
• What types of volunteer opportunities are there for parents at our school?
• How will we celebrate growth and achievement as a community this year?

Whatever the engagement program or opportunity, parent engagement is key to student success. Look for opportunities to participate and show up at your child’s school whenever possible.  Your child, and the school, need and appreciate your support.

Summertime Social-Emotional Learning Routines

As the summer sun calls and school doors close, parents, you have the perfect opportunity to focus on nurturing your child’s social skills in the comfort of home. Social skills are essential for navigating the complexities of human interaction, fostering meaningful relationships, and thriving in various social settings. In this blog post, I’ll explore practical and engaging ways you can cultivate social skills in your child during the summer break.

Encourage Playdates and Social Interaction:

• Arrange playdates with friends, neighbors, or classmates to provide opportunities for social interaction.
• Create a conducive environment for play by offering toys, games, and activities that encourage cooperation and communication.
• Supervise play sessions and intervene when necessary to teach conflict resolution and problem-solving skills.

Model Positive Social Behaviors:

• Be a role model for your child by demonstrating kindness, empathy, and respect in your interactions with others.
• Use everyday situations as teaching moments to illustrate social norms, such as taking turns, sharing, and listening attentively.
• Provide verbal praise and reinforcement when your child exhibits positive social behaviors.

Practice Active Listening:

• Teach your child the importance of active listening by maintaining eye contact, nodding, and responding appropriately during conversations.
• Engage in active listening exercises where you and your child take turns sharing stories or experiences, demonstrating empathy and understanding.

Promote Emotional Awareness:

• Help your child identify and label their emotions using simple language (e.g., happy, sad, angry).
• Encourage open communication about feelings and emotions, validating your child’s experiences and providing support when needed.
• Use books, videos, or visual aids to explore different emotions and discuss how to cope with them in healthy ways.

Role-Play Social Scenarios:

• Role-play common social situations with your child, such as introducing themselves to new friends, asking for help, or resolving conflicts.
• Take on different roles and encourage your child to practice appropriate responses and problem-solving strategies.
• Provide feedback and positive reinforcement to reinforce desired behaviors.

Engage in Cooperative Activities:

• Participate in cooperative activities that require teamwork and collaboration, such as cooking, gardening, or building a fort.
• Emphasize the importance of working together, sharing responsibilities, and respecting each other’s ideas and contributions.
• Reflect on the experience afterward, discussing what went well and how each person contributed to the task.

Explore Social Stories and Role Models:

• Read social stories or watch videos featuring characters who demonstrate positive social skills and behaviors.
• Discuss the lessons learned from these stories and how they apply to real-life situations.
• Encourage your child to emulate positive role models and incorporate their behaviors into their own interactions

Celebrate Social Successes:

• Celebrate your child’s social successes, no matter how small, to reinforce their confidence and motivation.
• Keep a journal or visual chart to track progress and acknowledge achievements along the way.
• Encourage a growth mindset by emphasizing effort, perseverance, and continuous improvement in social skills.

Summer is the perfect time for you to focus on nurturing your child’s social skills in a supportive and enriching home environment. By incorporating these practical strategies into everyday activities, you can help preschool and elementary-aged children develop the social competence they need to thrive in school, relationships, and life. Remember, building social skills is a journey that requires patience, consistency, and encouragement, but the rewards are immeasurable.

Summer Play Options for Kids

It’s summertime and our children are excited about laying around and relaxing for endless days. They may run outside and ride their bikes, garden, or explore creeks and nature. Or they may glue themselves to television reruns and computer screens. Each summer, parents struggle with ensuring that their children have sufficient stimulation without getting lost watching television shows or playing computer games. Other parents struggle with overscheduling their children to participate in various camps. This ensures that children have proper supervision while parents are gone from home with jobs and family obligations.

15 Summer Activities

As parents juggle their lives to support their families, here are 15 types of summer activities you and your child can select to ensure that they are stimulated, learning, and still not overscheduled:

• Parks and recreation departments offer a variety of programs that can include one hour to full day classes and camps in sports, art projects, and various recreational activities. Kids can also intern by helping adults in younger age programs. Middle school students can learn CPR and basic babysitting skills. Others can participate as teacher helpers in preschool activities.
• There are a variety of science and technology (STEM or STEAM) programs offered at local colleges and through various nonprofit organizations. Students can learn how to code, create Lego types of projects, and invent new contraptions that provide a specific service.
• Local school districts provide summer school remedial and enrichment programs that reinforce literacy and mathematical skill development.
• Community based organizations provide weekly summer day camps centered around local themes and conclude with a weekly field trip to an activity that reinforces them. For example, students may learn about the skills required to ride and maintain their bicycles. Then on Friday, they may take a 10-mile bike ride at a recreational area.
• Local churches convene summer bible schools where students learn more about their religion while socializing and playing with other children and friends in their church community.
• Art schools host intensive summer art camps where students learn to draw, paint, create modeling clay creatures, and nature collages.
• Sporting camps are abundantly offered through colleges, community-based organizations, and park programs.
• Sewing shops sponsor sewing summer programs where children learn how to use a sewing machine while designing and sewing a dress, doll clothes, or a creative product.
• Computer camps teach children how to use their computer with various computer applications. Kids can learn how to design an Excel spreadsheet, create directories, use math applications, research topics of interest, or learn word processing. Kids can create graphics for cards, newsletters, or business cards.
• Creative writing classes are offered at local colleges and community-based agencies for kids of all ages. They can learn how to write and self-publish books or submit a book proposal to a publisher.
• Students can apply for internships to explore future careers.
• Community-based organizations offer internships for students to assist in various community events including beach and waterway clean-up days, running events, homeless shelter meal and clothing distributions, and computer application projects.
• Students can learn how to write resumes sponsored by various organizations to support them in applying for jobs and internships.
• Children can create resumes promoting services that they would like to provide their neighbors. These may include serving as a mother’s helper, a babysitter, a gardener, a senior companion, or animal sitter. They can provide vacation support services, or collect recycling materials.
• Field trips can be organized by meeting with the parents of your child’s friends. Each family can host various play date events throughout the summer with a specific theme. Trips can focus on a sport, art activity, science exploration, or with a social-studies focus at a local museum. Children can learn financial literacy by balancing a checkbook. They can organize family photos or research your family’s ancestorial history.

Sharing Treasured Experiences and Memories

In the comments section below, share some of your most cherished summer activities with parents and teachers. Much success and serenity as you and your child identify a summer filled with playful moments of treasured experiences and memories.

Least Restructive Learning Environments Promote Success

One of the hardest pieces of an IEP to understand is the LRE  or Least Restrictive Environment. It is a fundamental principle in special education. The LRE emphasizes the importance of placing students with disabilities in educational settings that allow for the maximum possible interaction with their non-disabled peers while meeting their unique needs. The primary goal is to provide an inclusive and supportive environment that fosters academic and social development while meeting a child’s individual needs.

Mainstream with Specialized Services

Below are key components included in the LRE.

• Inclusion in General Education: LRE encourages placing students with disabilities in general education classrooms with appropriate support services. This means your child can learn and interact with students without disabilities, promoting a sense of belonging and social integration.
• Individualization of Support: The concept of LRE recognizes that the level of support your child needs may vary. It emphasizes providing individualized services and accommodations to ensure that your child can participate in class activities and receive appropriate educational opportunities.
• Consideration of Specialized Services: While the goal is inclusion in general education, LRE also acknowledges that some students may benefit from specialized services or additional support. These services should be tailored to your child’s specific needs and provided in a way that minimizes segregation from their non-disabled peers.
• Collaboration between Educators and Specialists: Achieving the least restrictive environment often involves collaboration between general education teachers, special education teachers, and other specialists. They work together to create an inclusive and supportive learning environment that meets the diverse needs of all students.
• Regular Monitoring and Adjustments: The placement in the least restrictive environment is not a one-time decision. It involves ongoing assessment and monitoring to ensure that the chosen setting continues to meet your child’s needs. If adjustments are needed, they should be made to promote your child’s success and well-being.

Participate with All Students

In essence, LRE is about striking a balance between providing the necessary support for your child with special needs and fostering their inclusion in the broader educational community. It is a commitment to creating an environment where every child can learn, grow, and interact with their peers in a way that maximizes their potential. I always tell parents and teachers that it’s about what support needs to be in place for the student to make adequate progress in closing gaps.

Behavior Intervention Plans Ensure Student Achievement

A Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP) is a personalized and structured strategy developed to address and modify challenging behaviors in children. It is a proactive approach used in special education to promote positive behavior and provide support for children who may exhibit behaviors that interfere with their learning or social interactions.

Supports Improved Student Behaviors

A Behavior Intervention Plan (BIP) is a carefully designed plan that outlines specific strategies and interventions to address and improve a child’s behavior. It is developed based on the findings of a Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA) and aims to create a positive and supportive environment that helps the child succeed academically and socially. The BIP is tailored to the unique needs of the child and focuses on promoting positive behaviors while addressing the underlying causes of challenging behavior.

Provides Targeted Student Strategies

Key points to understand about BIPs:

• Individualized: Each Behavior Intervention Plan is individualized to the specific child and their unique behavior challenges. It takes into account the results of the Functional Behavior Assessment (FBA), which identifies the triggers and functions of the behavior.
• Targeted Strategies: The BIP includes specific, targeted strategies and interventions to address the identified triggers and functions of the challenging behavior. These strategies are designed to be positive, proactive, and supportive, focusing on teaching the child alternative, more appropriate behaviors.
• Positive Reinforcement: BIPs often incorporate positive reinforcement strategies to encourage and reinforce desired behaviors. Rewards and positive consequences are used to motivate the child to engage in appropriate actions.
• Clear Implementation Plan: The BIP outlines a clear plan for how the strategies and interventions will be implemented. It includes information on who will be involved, what specific actions will be taken, and when and where the interventions will occur.
• Collaboration with Parents and School Staff: Parents are essential partners in the development and implementation of a BIP. Their insights and collaboration are crucial for the plan’s success. Teachers, special education staff, and other relevant school personnel also play key roles in implementing the plan.
• Ongoing Monitoring and Adjustments: A BIP is a dynamic document that requires ongoing monitoring and evaluation. If certain strategies are not proving effective or if the child’s needs change, the BIP can be adjusted to better meet those needs.
• Legal Considerations: In some cases, a BIP may be a legally mandated document, especially for students receiving special education services. It is part of the overall Individualized Education Program (IEP) or Section 504 Plan, which outlines the educational services and accommodations for students with disabilities.

Ensures Student Successes

In summary, a Behavior Intervention Plan is a comprehensive and individualized approach to supporting a child with challenging behaviors. It aims to create a positive and inclusive learning environment that fosters the child’s success while addressing the underlying causes of the behavior. Regular communication and collaboration between parents and school staff are crucial for the effective implementation of the plan.