Personal Statement : My Parent Volunteer

Parent and Community involvement does not occur overnight. I feel that schools must make parent and community involvement a priority, valuing and accepting each other’s differences. Schools, families and communities must work together to support all students in a learning environment to ensure every student is a successful learner. Positive family and school involvement fosters a partnership among my school encouraging students to reach their highest potential academically and in life. Parent and community involvement does not mean stay-at-home mothers coming to school to help as needed, or a businessman stopping by to see events occurring on campus. The role of school, family and community involvement is a partnership incorporating goal-oriented activities for all grade levels linked to academic success and student growth.

One of my first volunteering positions growing up was at a local elementary school assisting children in core math and reading subjects. Not only did I help the students but I also helped the teacher with grading and developing new assignments. This experience gave me great insight into how one can effectively explain education materials to young children.

I know families and the communities are our support system and always there for us. Being a future teacher I have to support the families and communities and letting them be engage. I can do a Literacy Night with the school. This will involve the families and communities. The literacy Night will be a multicultural event. All the books will be different types of multicultural books from the list. The families and communities can come out to learn more about each cultural. I will get some parents involve by helping me set up or they can talk about their own culture.

As a result of the location of the school in a suburban community, the parents are very actively involved in the school. As a result of the active of the supportive parents in the community, the students arrived every day with a smile on their faces and generally prepared for learning. However, as with

Probably one of the most important issues when it comes to Family/Community Partnership is trying to get the families/community involved in what we are doing. By engaging parents, it will help us to see what we are lacking and what we need to do in order to have our families fully engaged. I feel that if our families/communities are not engaged in our program then we need to reevaluate in order to encourage their participation. By reevaluating our program we can further access what we need to work on. If parents/communities feel that they are not valued as part of our team, they won’t engage in our program. Both the parents and the community play a big role in the education of our children. Parents are their first teachers and the communities have valuable resources for the children.

Parental involvement is essential for the school’s effectiveness. We see ourselves as partners of the family, reinforcing parents' efforts to guide the intellectual, emotional and spiritual development of their children. We offer seminars and classes for personal enrichment of parents as they strive to become even more the kind of person they want their children to

As early educators and advocates for young children, we need to be available to families in our area and play integral roles that can make a difference in their lives. Some ways that I could do that in a student’s life would be to assure that the family’s basic needs are met by striving to make a deeper connection, provide outside

I am quite fortunate to work at a site that I was able to be part of creating our school’s vision. Lorena Falasco Elementary School’s mission statement is: “In partnership with our community, Lorena Falasco Elementary School is committed to creating a safe and positive environment with high expectations that encourage success and lifelong learning for everyone.” With that in mind, parent education and involvement are crucial for a school to be successful in doing so. At this time I am co-leading a parent education class that is being held at Lorena Falasco Elementary School we have completed seven of the eight workshops. The parenting workshop combines parenting and leadership skills that will empower parents to become vital contributors to their children’s academic success. There are eight workshops that we will present, which will create parent leaders and also provide positive

Busch Middle School of Character had a wonderful sense of community, each student, instructor, and family, made sure they were doing their part. I believe it’s important for educators to understand the needs of the families and community of their students because the more resources the better. When schools actively involve parents

The use of volunteers like parents or community members can help relieve some responsibilities that are on many teachers or administrators plates. This can allow teachers and administrators to focus on student learning.

By informing parents of the ways in which they may be able to assist (Fellowes, 2010), paired with flexible commitment offers, teachers are setting a comfortable and casual scene for parents to become involved in their child’s learning.

In the beginning of the interview I had believed that the Hernandez family was a middle-class family who had no great monetary issues, I also believed that the family needed more persuasion to be involved in school programs since in the past Janeth Hernandez the mother to the child Jenny Hernandez shared she had never participated in her child’s school as a volunteer, and I also believed that one involvement plan fit all families. However, after completing the interview on the Hernandez family my beliefs on this specific family where greatly influenced I realized that not all families will fit the same involvement plan because every family has different day to day activities, so it is important as a teacher to communicate with not only the children but the parents too. I also learned to be understanding that although a family might look like a family ignoring their child’s academic development what really might be happening is that they can’t afford or are having difficulties completing school requirement with no help. Finally, I learned through the interview that it is important as a future teacher that

Although it is important for families to be involved with their child’s school, school personnel should also strive to create a positive interaction with families of students. Carl Dunst (2002) states that school and parent collaboration is necessary, and if schools take on a more family-centered approach, it will help create a supportive environment and help to strengthen a family’s capacity to enhance and promote a child’s development and learning.

Teachers can increase parent participation in the child’s learning by, updating them in upcoming activities and events; so they can be included in their child’s education, stay informed in their child’s successes and concerns, participate in special events, and

Parental involvement in education is a vital essential for creating a cooperative environment for the student to thrive and succeed in. When a student knows that he or she is receiving support both inside and outside the school, the chances of that child becoming responsible for and active in their education are more likely. I know that there can be difficulties including parents for many reasons. Such parents may be too busy, uninterested or just feel helpless. However, as an educator, I will still have an obligation to reach out to these parents and assist them.