I bet you have heard the proverb, “It takes a village to raise a child.” As an educator I will part of that village for every student in my classroom. This is the first of four in a series of posts that discuss a strategy to include families and communities in my efforts to educate their children.

The first way I would reach out to parents, families and communities to include them in our classroom or school wide would be to ask them to volunteer. “Having parents volunteer in your classroom has many benefits, and you will often find knowledgeable and experienced parents who enjoy this type of work”(Eby, Herrell, & Jordan, 2011, p 265). I love having parents around to lead a center activity, work with small groups or even do one to one reading. I think it is important to reach out directly to these parents, guardians or even family members. While parents are great on party days, I think that they can be even more helpful on regular class days. I spent time in a classroom that had an older gentleman who came in every day and ran a Math center for the classroom, he had no children or grandchildren in the classroom, he was fabulous.

References

Eby, J. W., Herrell, A. L., & Jordan, M. (2011). Teaching in K-12 Schools A Reflective Action