First Five Years
Meet the Parents

And make them part of your education team.

You've survived the first six weeks of school and you are beginning to understand your students. But just as you get comfortable in your classroom, you realize it's time to meet the parents.

For a new teacher, the thought of meeting students' parents can be more terrifying than meeting the parents of your future spouse. But keep in mind, parents often are just as nervous about meeting you.

"Some parents come to school scared because their own experiences in school weren't positive, so teachers need to be sensitive to that" says Dorothy Rich, founder and president of the Home and School Institute in Washington, D.C. Rich has more than 30 years of experience designing programs to help teachers and families work together.

Through Rich's MegaSkills® program, school staff and parents learn ways to collaborate to help students succeed academically. The program shows teachers how to build positive relationships with their students' families, with a focus on helping students build the behaviors, attitudes, and habits that determine school success, like confidence, motivation, responsibility, and initiative. About 39 states offer the program through a MegaSkills/NEA initiative.

"One of the issues that new teachers, and teachers in general, face is building a sense of welcome at their schools and into their classrooms," says Debra Nixon, director of the Center for Revitalization of Urban Education at the Michigan Education Association. "What MegaSkills equips teachers with is a practical tool for enhancing that welcome."

During 60- to 90-minute workshops, teachers learn how to build parent-school connections. They also become more comfortable with one-on-one and large group interactions. The program includes 11 different sessions.

Todd Owens, a senior at Wayne State University in Detroit and a member of the NEA Student Program, found the MegaSkills training especially helpful when he wanted to learn how to build a rapport with the parents of his future students.

"I want to teach older kids, so I wanted to know what it was like to work with the parents of older kids," says Owens, a second-career teacher who has a daughter in elementary school and one preschool-aged daughter. "I know that inviting parents into my classroom is going to be a must."

By inviting parents to school, teachers can dispel any misconceptions parents have about what happens during the school day, Owens says. But, speaking as a parent, Owens encourages his fellow teachers to visit parents as well, since many parents cannot get away from work to attend school events or conferences.

Dorothy Rich agrees that teachers must remember the needs of parents and acknowledge that parents are part of the education team.

"You say, 'Welcome to my classroom. I know and I believe that you are very important in the educational achievement of your child, and I will work with you so I know all the best things to help this child achieve,'" Rich says. "You keep on repeating words of reassurance and you show through your actions that you value parents."

Rich suggests teachers call parents at the beginning of the year to introduce themselves. Parent-teacher conferences should include practical strategies parents can use to help their children at home, she says. If teachers plan to use parent volunteers in their classrooms, they should know what duties the volunteers will perform. The teacher may want to confer with the volunteer ahead of time to determine what the volunteer would be comfortable doing, she adds.

While most parents look forward to working with their child's teacher, some resist a teacher's efforts. In those instances, teachers need to accept that they may not reach all parents.

"Keep your smile and keep going forward with your outreach," Rich says. "A new teacher must know he or she is the education leader. You are providing the leadership, even if you are 22 years old and scared to death."

--Kristen Loschert

For more information about the MegaSkills® program, go to www.megaskillshsi.org/Default.htm. MegaSkills Moments for Teachers, available for $9.95 from the NEA Professional Library, offers vignettes and questions designed to turn everyday problems into opportunities for personal and professional growth. Visit http://home.nea.org/books.

Nobody Ever Told Me

With a Little Help From My Friends
I realized early on as a new teacher the importance of having a supportive network of colleagues.

On my first day of teaching, numerous colleagues introduced themselves and introduced me to my new profession. It was comforting to a jittery new teacher who previously felt all alone.

Then, after only two months in my position, my father developed a fatal illness. My colleagues were wonderfully supportive, both professionally and emotionally. Sadly, my father passed away the day before Christmas vacation. My colleagues, who had known me for only a short period of time, took care of my classroom, copying papers and devising substitute plans. Without their support, I could not have gotten through the ordeal of losing my father within the first few months of starting my first teaching position.

The social aspects of teaching are sometimes neglected or viewed as trivial. But social support often is the most important need new teachers have.

Robert W. Dill
Middle school social studies teacher
Johnstown, Pennsylvania

Got a Story?
E-mail kloschert@nea.org.

[Dilemma]

How do you get parents involved at your school?

I created 20 "connection bags" that focus on the standards I teach in class. Each bag contains games, hands-on activities, and at least two books related to the theme of a lesson. The students take a bag home for the week and get the family involved in what they are learning. I also have family nights where the parents learn how to use the tools.

Kristin Rubow
Third-grade teacher
Menlo Park, California

I work at a school with a diverse population. To overcome the language barrier some of our parents face, we use a system that translates speakers at our parent meetings into three languages. This makes the parents more comfortable when they come to school.

John Toscano
Behavior support specialist
Pompano Beach, Florida

I teach orchestra and I have found that parents who are musicians love to help with the program. I contact parents involved in the symphony and ask them to mentor my string players.

Linda Monahan
Middle school orchestra teacher
Longview, Washington

During our school open house, parents learn about my class' daily tasks, attendance, and grading policies. I also inform them about a website I created that includes daily updates, activities in my classroom, study guides, website links, and weekly notices. Students and parents also can contact me by e-mail.

Victor Garcia
High school Spanish teacher
New Bern, North Carolina

At the fall open house, teachers encourage parents to help on the yearly book fair and spring play or to volunteer in the library or as chaperones for trips.

Linda James
Middle school teacher
Framingham, Massachusetts

Got an Answer?

What do you do when you think student work is parent work?

E-mail your answer to dilemma2@list.nea.org. Or send by regular mail, or fax to 202/822-7206. Include your name, city, state, and job. If published, you will receive an NEA Today mug!

Two-Minute Tips

Discipline Cards
I have green, yellow, and red discipline cards on a chart for each student. At the start of the day, each student has a green card on the chart. If a child disrupts class, the student removes his or her green card as a warning. If the child is disruptive a second time, the student removes the yellow card and receives a five-minute time out. After the third offense, the child removes the red card and receives a 10-minute time out. If the behavior continues, the child talks to the educational assistant about his or her behavior, then the child may return to class.

Lolita Cox
St. Paul, Minnesota

Pencil Predicament
Our students must use pencils in math class, but many times students arrive unprepared. I used to keep a supply of pencils with erasers available for student use, but students did not always return them after class. So I purchased a box of short golf pencils. Now I give them freely to students in need.

James Joseph Adams
Virginia Beach, Virginia

Resources

Bright Ideas
The NEA Professional Library has released a revised edition of Bright Ideas: A Pocket Mentor for Beginning Teachers. This handy checklist book, which costs $4.50 for NEA members, includes tips for communicating with parents, navigating parent-teacher conferences, working with a mentor, managing your classroom, and managing stress. To order a copy or for more information, go to http://home.nea.org/books/.

National PTA
To learn more about working with parents, check out the website for the national PTA at www.pta.org/index.asp. It includes general information about the organization, tips for ways parents can work with schools, advice for helping children succeed in school, health and safety facts, and education news. You also can subscribe to Our Children, the national PTA magazine, at the Website.

The First-Year Teacher
For a book to guide you through your first year, check out The First-Year Teacher: Teaching with Confidence (K-8). This book, available for $16.95 from the NEA Professional Library, includes scripts for parent-teacher conferences, time-saving strategies for dealing with paperwork, solutions to common discipline problems, and activities to acclimate elementary and middle school students to a new classroom. To order a copy or for more information, go to http://home.nea.org/books/.