"The mission of our school is to ensure students will engage in dynamic, rigorous, and relevant curriculum. Students will develop abilities to enable them to contribute to our global society. Students will achieve goals in a safe, nurturing, and respectful environment. Our vision is for all students to attain their maximum academic and social potential."
In order to attain our vision our staff has developed, collaboratively, strategies to make our students, their families, and our community partners feel welcome at our school. Several years ago as a staff, we determined ways would could help our families feel connected to school. Over 80% of our students qualify for free ore reduced lunch. Many of our students' parents work multiple jobs and being present on campus isn't an option for them. We wanted these parents to feel just as comfortable at our school as those who are able to volunteer during the school day. In partnership with our PTA, we scheduled regular family nights with dinner and fun family activities provided at little to no cost. We invested in a call-out system that keeps our parents informed of upcoming events, so even if they didn't have time to read the flyers that are still crumpled up in the bottom of the backpack, they would be in the loop. We give as much advanced notice for volunteer opportunities as possible so if parents wish to arrange to take time off they can.
We saw a need to engage our families who are not english speakers. These parents wanted to be more present at school and volunteer, but felt limited by their language. We started a parent helper club where anyone who wanted to volunteer to help teachers by prepping art projects, running copies, etc. could meet in the Parent Room on Friday mornings. There is a bi-lingual aid there to help translate the instructions for the prep work. This program really got more parents coming in to help and built a great relationship between teachers and parents.
We saw a need to help our parents feel more comfortable in a school environment. Many had poor and limited school experience as students themselves and they carry this unsureness with them as parents. Two years ago we began implementing a program called School Smarts. This is an incredible evening workshop for parents that teaches them how to be proactive in their children's education. The group meets one night a week. Dinner is provided for the parents and children. Then the children get to participate in a family activity with their parents, like an art project. For the final portion of the evening, the kids are taken to a classroom for fun games and the parents participate in a workshop. Topics include learning about the way schools are funded, how to get support for your child if they are struggling, meeting school board members, learning about how to communicate with your child's teacher, etc. We have a translator at each meeting to be sure everyone is included in the conversation. The first year we did this there were just a few families that participated. Now we are busting at the seams and the parents who've "graduated" from the program still want to attend! Since becoming a School Smart school our staff has noticed a positive change in the climate of our school and the level of engagement the parents have. This trickles down to student engagement as well! We are really pleased with this program.
We saw a need to help students who qualified for free or reduced lunch to feel more comfortable getting lunch from school. At the beginning of this year we actively encouraged parents to fill out the application for free and reduced lunch. If 80% or more qualified every student in our school would be eligible for a free-lunch! our hunch was correct and we met the criteria. Our students do not feel embarrassed getting a hot school lunch and our cafeteria does not have to play the role of bill collector for over-due lunch money accounts. Our cafeteria also serves a "super" meal mid-afternoon for any child on campus. This was a really critical program as it provides many of our students with the only dinner they will get some nights. By connecting to our community and providing these services, we are building a partnership with families that makes them feel like there is no us and them- just a "we".
Always Room for Growth I think a group of people I still see room for growth in the way we welcome them are our classified employees like our playground supervisors, Extended Student Services (ESS) staff and special education assistants. These dedicated people are tasked with keeping order during some of the most hectic times of the day. And while they are greeted warmly by our staff, the other parents and even students do not always extend this to them. In thinking about ways to further welcome this group of people if I were the school leader, I would first look at myself and be sure that I'm modeling the types of interactions I'd like to see with between this group of people, the other staff members, parents, and students. I'd ask myself, "Am I greeting them by name in the hallways? Am I supporting them in their duties? Am I communicating efficiently with them? What resources do they need to feel more welcome?" Then, I would look at ways we could engage them in our school culture. I think asking all teachers to introduce the students to the supervisors would be a great place to start. Looking into providing them with staff t-shirts like the teachers have would be another visual way to show belonging. Our teachers all wear their t-shirts on a certain day and these staff members would likely love to be able to be included in that. | When I reflect on actions I can take in my present position to enhance welcoming the playground supervisors, ESS staff, and SpEd assistants one fact comes to my mind. I honestly do not know each one of their names! It's embarrassing to admit this so publicly, but many of them are new this year and I just cannot recall all their names. I also do not think I'm in this situation alone, as many of my students and colleagues do not know the supervisors' names either. We need to fix this! I would love to be able to greet them by name when my class sees them on campus. 5 things I will do that will make my school a more welcoming place:
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