My Tip of the Week: Meet with your School Principal
Before you make definitive plans for next year's PTO or PTA calendar, have you sat down with your principal and asked about her top two or three priorities for next year? If not -- have that conversation first.
Befo
ore
ore you make definitive plans for next year's PTO or PTA calendar, have you sat down with your principal and asked about her top two or three priorities for next year? If not -- have that conversation first.
Parent involvement and family and volunteer activities of all kinds are great. But parent involvement that brings parents into discussions about and solutions for key school challenges is the most powerful. Perhaps reading scores are a struggle. If so, a Family Reading Night (with collaboration from your reading staff) might be a better fit than the annual Science Night. Or you could add a book swap and book club to the school calendar. Or volunteer parent readers and tutors. You get the idea.
The same kind of thinking and collaboration can apply to all kinds of priorities, but only if you have that conversation with your principal and/or staff. The challenges might be related to academics, social skills, safety, physical fitness, or something else. Working together with school staff, you can multiply your impact.
Here are a few more links on that kind of collaboration:
P.S. -- Speaking of reading, I wanted to give you a heads up about a fun summer reading list sweepstakes from our sister site, SchoolFamily.com. Head over to the SchoolFamily Facebook page and share your favorite children's book for a chance to win a $200 Amazon gift card. Good luck!
Parent involvement and family and volunteer activities of all kinds are great. But parent involvement that brings parents into discussions about and solutions for key school challenges is the most powerful. Perhaps reading scores are a struggle. If so, a Family Reading Night (with collaboration from your reading staff) might be a better fit than the annual Science Night. Or you could add a book swap and book club to the school calendar. Or volunteer parent readers and tutors. You get the idea.
The same kind of thinking and collaboration can apply to all kinds of priorities, but only if you have that conversation with your principal and/or staff. The challenges might be related to academics, social skills, safety, physical fitness, or something else. Working together with school staff, you can multiply your impact.
Here are a few more links on that kind of collaboration:
P.S. -- Speaking of reading, I wanted to give you a heads up about a fun summer reading list sweepstakes from our sister site, SchoolFamily.com. Head over to the SchoolFamily Facebook page and share your favorite children's book for a chance to win a $200 Amazon gift card. Good luck!
