Parent Involvement and NCLB

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I'm a Parent Involvement Coordinator for my state's Parent Information and Resource Center. My position is funded by a grant by the US DOE as part of NCLB.

I wanted to stop in and say "hi" to everyone. And to let everyone know I'm not taking sides. If anyone has questions about what I and my project do, please let me know. I'd rather you got answers from someone who knows than doesn't.

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Parent Replies to "Parent Involvement and NCLB"

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Have you gone to the school to monitor her class?Some say this in ineffective because teachers will put on a good show for parents in the room. I have seen it both ways but it is pretty easy to tell from the kids' reactions when the regular process has changed for the day. If it is not feasible to monitor the class, I would speak with her directly, and let the principal know that you are doing it. The only way to change the problem is to address it and simply moving your own child out of the class would not address the problem of a bad teacher. I spend a lot of my time advocating for the kids in our district - mine and everyone else's. You have a right to discuss the problems with the teacher, you can also speak to other parents of kids in the class and find out if they are having a problem too.
I believe in facing the whole problem and not just taking care of "me and mine." But don't think I am picking on you about that - you just sound really frustrated right now and I think you need some support.

i was wondering if you can advice me on what are my rights about dealing with my sons progress report...he is getting too many Fs and iam so worry..i have a meeting tomorrow..what are my rights to ask the principal to change my son to another class cause the teacher he has in language arts and reading seems to be flying thru the class, and other parents says she is not a great teacher...she does not connect with the children ...what can i do

Futurebird - I hear you when you talk about the phone list not being up to date. It usually has nothing to do with the school though. Some parents change phone numbers about as often as they change their clothes - especially with the invention of the pay-as-you-go phone - many can't afford or don't think paying a monthly phone bill is important - so they get cutoff on a regular basis. Others just don't want to be able to be reached. They believe school and home life should be totally separate. Some have been taught that school is something you get through because you have to, they have been told all of their lives they are worthless and education will not help them - so they prognose their kids the same way. They are the hardest people to reach out to because they are waiting for someone to knock them back down after they come up. Getting parents involved is not always easy but you can't blame the school for not keeping accurate records. I have had to deal with it from their end too, and it is not always fun or easy!

Futurebird - that has been a huge problem for so many cities. Talk to your legislators (good luck), state PIRC people, and other parents. Getting an updated database is going to be rough, but don't give up.

mom4health - We work with schools through parent nights, workshops, and resource centers. The parent nights are centered around academics. The parent group at your school could put on a Literacy night where families come in dressed in pjs, eat popcorn (paid 4 by parent group), and read stories. Its all about getting the parents into the schools, and it goes beyond photocopying. if parents see how FUN volunteering can be, they will do it more often.
Every state, and some foreign nations, have a PIRC.
Visit www.nationalpirc.org/directory
and click on the drop down menu to find your state. There is a website link as well as contact info for the office. More often than not the website has a lot of info. Others not so much.

One problem I've seen in NYC school is that phone lists are not up-to-date. There are a lot of non-working numbers and wrong addresses. This made it hard for teachers to call home and talk to parents. I think starting with basic issues like this one could be important.

Really in this day and age even poor family may have a computer at home. I think schools should have online forums for planning, or emails lists. I know some school do this, but what if there were some kind of central interface? It'd need to be well designed and easy to use.

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