Communication
What is a conference?
Parent comes in a reads a story to the class.
What is a mystery reader?
Call this number or look on the computer and find out your homework assignments for elementary students.
What is Homework Hotline?
This group of parents might be part of a national organization that works within their schools and nationally for better schools.
What is the PTA or PTO?
Parents and community members come into the school to describe their jobs in the community.
What is Career Day?
This is a good means of everyday informal communication.
A volunteer job parents could do at home.
What is cutting out projects, making games or activities for the class, calling parents to set up helpers?
Local libraries or Pizza Hut has done this in the past to encourage reading.
What is have children read books for a prize?
This group of parents might help choose the reading text for elementary grades or the social studies program for upper elementary.
What is a curriculum committee?
This is a way schools can help financially support and encourage community groups such as intermural teams and small interest groups.
Provide for rental free space.
This goes home weekly or monthly online or in backpacks and usually gives a calendar and explains what is going on and what children will be learning.
What is a newsletter?
Schools can survey what parents would like to learn and then hold these.
What are parent nights or workshops or classes?
Providing this over the summer can keep children's skills sharp.
What is a calendar or packet of activities to do over the summer?
This committee might decide how to raise money for a school.
What is a fundraising committee?
School sends families out to help in community in a variety of projects.
What is Community Day?
A teacher can set this up so that parents can access it on their phone or computer and can read posts about the class or see pictures.
What is a website?
Having resources together that they can check out in a place for parents.
What is a lending library?
Parents can come in to the school and make educational games and toys to use at home.
What is a make-it-take-it workshop?
Some preschools, especially cooperatives, have one of these groups and the parents who are involved make high level decisions such as hiring.
What is a board?
School could do this to show parents what services are available in the area for them.
What is a fair or brochure?
This hangs on a wall and you can post information for parents on it.
What is a bulletin board?
What are home visits?
Building a leprechaun trap with a first graders, doing a science fair project with a third grader, making a family collage with a preschooler.
What are family learning projects?
Each school district in Illinois has this made up of elected officials. They set policy for the school.
What is a school board?
What are grants?