Build Better Parent and Teacher Relations
Follow these 5 steps
Introduction
Regardless of the global location, twenty-first-century educators and systems of education display a sincere commitment to providing students with wonderful learning opportunities that will increase their achievement. Curricular processes are enriched with high levels of academic rigor to sustain active student engagement while educator preparation and professional development programs are infused with research-based programs that provide learners with equitable opportunities to grow to optimal heights. Additionally, many educators recognize that students experience a higher level of success when their parents and caregivers are engaged in the educational process of their children.
This article gives teachers and other educators five strategies for taking the lead in building authentic partnerships with parents.
Parent Partnerships Matter
Despite the acknowledgment that parental involvement in their child’s education equates to increased levels of student success, many teachers, school administrators, and others involved with educating and developing children and young people continue to be challenged with low levels of family engagement. In many instances, this is especially true for educators who serve diverse student populations. My book called
“Repair the Broken Pieces: A System to Awaken Positive Relations Between the Family and Educational Provider Through Engagement Fusion”
resolves this dilemma by outlining a framework for all educators to incorporate into their professional strategies to enable them to take the lead in building strong, authentic relationships with families so that they will be engaged with all of their child’s learning progressions. While the research of Dr. Sonia Nieto related to
“The Levels of Multicultural Education”
has been utilized as a catalyst throughout my book, I have expanded upon these levels to create engagement fusion.
I define engagement fusion as
“the process of blending and saturating all of the powerful components of acceptance, respect, and affirmation into all protocols related to educational providers working with parents”.
Engagement fusion opens the door to relationship building so that families become authentically connected to their child’s learning process. Ultimately, engagement fusion propels and mobilizes social justice because educators empower parents to have a voice in their child’s learning experiences. This abolishes parental apathy as democracy prevails.
The 5 Steps to Build Healthy Partnerships
In order for engagement fusion to manifest in the form of authentic educator and parent relationships that are positive as well as productive, educational leaders, teachers, and other school personnel must adhere to the following five critical steps.
- Educators must be willing to embrace parental dispositions and viewpoints that are unlike their own. In doing so, they will not judge families because of their varied differences nor will they consider their diversity as a deficit.
- Educators must abandon a perspective that endorses, promotes, or celebrates tolerance because they should never merely endure or put up with parents.
- Educators must willfully approve of the families that they serve by igniting the act of acceptance.
- Educators must inspire each family by honoring, admiring, and maintaining a high opinion of them through respect.
- Educators must genuinely encourage and support parents as their compassionate, empathetic, caring professional disposition prevails.
Conclusion: The End Result
Whatever the role an educator plays in the life of children or young people, the overall student learning and developmental milestones and outcomes will become more robust when parents and caregivers partner with them when an authentically genuine relationship is sustained. Engagement fusion promotes the responsibility of educators in taking the lead in building and maintaining strong connections with families.
Did you gain new insights from reading this article? If so, I invite you to read the following stories to expand your knowledge about the importance of family engagement in education.
Thank you for reading these stories.
Here is my golden ticket that helps me accomplish my mission.
Dr. Deborah M. Vereen is a retired Teacher and School Administrator. Her website is www.Drdeborahmvereen.com and her YouTube Channel is https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCS1DPhBeA29UlybU9jzDkdQ
