Type 2- Communicating

The second type of involvement, Communicating, involves conducting effective communications from school-to-home and from home-to-school about school programs and student progress.

How do you communicate with parents? Some kids bring home Thursday folders with what is happening at their elementary school. Do your teachers use Blogging? Maybe a school wide notification system that sends email and text messages to parents. I have heard a parent note that they receive a text when their student is tardy or absent.

When was the last time that you had a Parent-Teacher Conference? As an instructor do you send progress reports or test results back to the parent? If you have a student from culture, do you provide an interpreter for their parents?

How can you build your communication network? When was the last time you invited parents for a Parent Night (something held not during the workday) or maybe a Superintendent-Parent Coffee, and invite parents to come into school before their workday and have coffee with instructors and the Superintendent.

In what ways are you making communication easier in your district?

Earth Day

Happy Earth Day!!

Earth Day has been celebrated annually, since 1970, on April 22 to inspire awareness and appreciation for the Earth's environment.

So what are you doing to make the world a little Greener?

We have mentioned a few Green things happening at CareerTech, and we are looking for more. Whether it is starting to recycle paper, carpool more often or looking at using technology to change the way we do business, we are trying. Each gesture helps, and leaves the world just a bit Greener for the next generation.

Some of our technology centers are making the world a bit Greener through education. Autry Technology Center has installed an Endurance Wind Tower, High Plains Technology Center has just started a Wind Energy Technician Program and Francis Tuttle Technology Center has its own Think Green Organization.

What can you do at your technology center to make the world a little Greener?

2nd Annual GuidanceFest

Building on the success of our inaugural GuidanceFest, we are proud to announce the dates for our second annual event.

GuidanceFest 20009 will be held:

• September 1 - Moore Norman Technology Center, South Penn
• September 3 - Tulsa Technology Center
• September 10 - Kiamichi Technology Center, Atoka
• September 15 - Western Oklahoma State College, Altus
• September 22 - High Plains Technology Center, Woodward

We hope that we will see you at one of our locations. We are excited about bringing new information to you that you can use as we work to raise student achievement in Oklahoma.

You can get all your GuideanceFest news from the Tech Prep Blog or visit us here.

Epstein's Six Types of Involvement - Parenting

Research demonstrates that parent involvement in a child's learning is positively related to achievement and as educators who know the importance of parental involvement we should be engaged in the task of getting more parental involvement.

To help facilitate the discussion, Dr Joyce Epstein, Director of the National Network of Partnership Schools at John Hopkins University, has devised 6 Types of Involvement. Though this list may not be complete, it provides a stable footing for us to begin the conversation.

Lets talk about the 6 types starting with Type 1, Parenting.

Parenting involves ways schools can assist families with parenting and child-rearing skills, understanding child and adolescent development, and setting home conditions that support children as students at each age and grade level. Parenting also assist schools in understanding families.

When was the last age-level workshops on child development available at the school or online.? A workshop could be centered around applying to financial aid for the transition to college, maybe a Parents University where they could learn math skills to help their students do homework, or perhaps a CareerTech 101 course where parents could become involved in learning about the activities and procedures of the technology center.

Parental workshops neither have to be long or complicated. An opportunity for the parent to see what the child is learning and how they can reinforce that knowledge is an opportunity that should not be wasted.

What are you doing to encourage Parental Involvement at your technology center?

More later on the other five, communicating, volunteering, learning at home, decision making and collaborating with the community.

Epstein, et. al. 2002. School, Family, and Community Partnerships: Your Handbook for Action, Second Edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press, Inc.