The first general assembly sponsored by the Board of Directors, traditionally known as the Welcome Cocktail, was held on Tuesday September 16, 2014 at the Embajador Hotel. The Board of Directors and the Administration presented a brief overview of last year’s highlights and expectations for the coming school year. As usual the most important aspect of such an important event is the renewal of our partnership between school and home.
Joyce Epstein of the Johns Hopkins University, Center on School, Family and Community Partnerships, one of the nation’s leading experts on parent involvement, has divided school parent involvement programs into six broad categories:
Joyce Epstein of the Johns Hopkins University, Center on School, Family and Community Partnerships, one of the nation’s leading experts on parent involvement, has divided school parent involvement programs into six broad categories:
- Parenting, in which schools help families with their parenting skills by providing information on children’s developmental stages and offering advice on learning-friendly home environments;
- Communicating, or working to educate families about their child’s progress and school services and providing opportunities for parents to communicate with the school;
- Volunteering, which ranges from offering opportunities for parents to visit their child’s school to finding ways to recruit and train them to work in the school or classroom;
- Learning at home, in which schools and educators share ideas to promote at-home learning through high expectations and strategies so parents can monitor and help with homework.
- Decision-making, in which schools include families as partners in school organizations, advisory panels, and similar committees.
- Community collaboration, a two-way outreach strategy in which community or business groups are involved in education and schools encourage family participation in the community.