The days of chaperoning field trips and volunteering in the
classroom might be gone for parents once their kids enter San
Benito High School, but that’s not stopping the school’s staff from
encouraging moms and dads from getting more involved and helping
improve school-to-home communication.
HOLLISTER
The days of chaperoning field trips and volunteering in the classroom might be gone for parents once their kids enter San Benito High School, but that’s not stopping the school’s staff from encouraging moms and dads from getting more involved and helping improve school-to-home communication.
To help foster better communication between parents and the high school, teachers and administrators are organizing a Parent Partnership Forum to be held Monday night.
“I’m a firm believer that parents need to be more involved now than ever,” Principal Krystal Lomanto said.
At the forum, parents will learn ways to reach teachers, hear about research on parent and school partnerships and discuss further how they can develop better communication.
“We want to develop a strong home-to-school partnership,” Lomanto said.
The goal of meeting with parents is to figure out how to bridge the gap between the school and parents and create better communication, she said.
Librarian Doug Achterman, who helped develop the forum idea, said he hopes it will foster good dialogue.
“This is a place where conversation will happen,” Achterman said. “All kinds of conversation will happen – between parents, between parents and teachers, between administrators, parents and teachers.”
Teachers say parent involvement is an important part of student success.
“We want to expand the community and get more parent involvement,” said Chuck Schallhorn, psychology and government teacher. “We need the school, kid and parent – all three – working together.”
Schallhorn used the analogy of a three-legged stool, saying without one of the legs, the stool would not stand up. Without parents, teachers and the students communicating and working together, the student would not be successful, he said.
History teacher Derek Barnes said that he rarely received calls from parents, even after sending progress reports home. He said after the forum, maybe the lines of communication between teachers and parents will become more open and parents will feel more comfortable calling.
At the forum, parents can learn ways to reach their child’s teachers and keep in touch with their child’s academics.
There are currently tools in place such as In-Touch, a program which allows parents to get access to their child’s report card and attendance on the school’s Web site. Many parents, however, don’t know how to gain access to it, Lomanto said.
That and other benefits of the school’s Web site will be reviewed at the forum.
“Maybe this kind of forum will give the parents the tools to reach out for help,” Barnes said.
Parents will also have the opportunity to meet in small groups and discuss how they feel the home-to-school partnership can be nurtured.
Lomanto said she had no idea how many people would show up at the forum, but said that if five parents showed up, it would be considered a success. There will be a Spanish translator and childcare available, Lomanto said, to open the forum up to more parents.
“I’m not going to be disappointed if we only have a handful (of parents), because this is the beginning,” Achterman said. “I think we will create some really good discussions about what we want it to look like here.”
The high school is hoping to put on other similar forums in the future and throughout the school year.
“I think you have to take small steps at first. Take baby steps and then build upon it,” Barnes said.
