Welcoming Parents
When you first meet with parents or they visit a reception centre, it can be helpful to provide them with information that extends beyond their child's placement in a school. Consider what else they might need to know to successfully integrate in the school and broader community.
Information Schools Should Provide to Newcomer Families to Support Integration:
Course schedules (e.g., child will have more than one teacher and more than one classroom)
Physical layout of the school
Homework policy and purpose
Attendance policy (e.g., mandatory phone call and note when child is sick)
Discipline policy
Immunization policy
Dress code, winter clothing, physical education uniforms
Cafeteria options
Subsidized lunch applications
Transportation options to and from school
Back to School Night information
Progress report and report card descriptions
Parent-teacher conference dates and purpose
After-school clubs and sports options
Special education services
Summer school availability
The role of guidance counselors and other non-teaching staff
Source: Short, D. J., & Boyson, B. A. (2012). Helping newcomer students succeed in secondary schools and beyond. Washington, DC: Center for Applied Linguistics (p. 52). Retrieved from http://www.cal.org/resource-center/publications/helping- newcomer-students
Key information that could be gathered and kept on hand to share with
newly arrived parents:
How schooling works here in Alberta including school, district and provincial educational information (district calendar, programs of study, assessment practices, classroom management/discipline, parent-teacher conferences, etc.). Here is a sample from the Canadian Multicultural Education Foundation
Local community events
Pre-school programs
How to access the local library
Community and language supports available for parents
Local sporting programs
Maps - Getting around
Backpacks and school supplies and where to purchase them (a number of community agencies provide supplies: e.g., Tools for School backpacks, United Way, mittens)
Indoor/outdoor shoes
How to dress students for the weather
Information about lunch and snack routines, and what it means to be a nut-aware school; might need to be as specific as introducing parents to Ziploc bags. Distribute any available community brochures on Healthy Eating, Snacks, etc.
Plan to host 1 or 2 Parent Information Sessions per year, e.g., how school works, how to support your child in their learning, transitioning to Gr 7, how high school credits work, etc.
Considerations when Communicating with Newcomer Families
Social media:
Can be an effective tool for sharing information
Should not be depended on though as not all families may regularly use social media sites
If using as a communication tool, provide translations of the messages being shared
Translated materials or notes:
Can be sent home in students’ homework folders
Important to have reliable translations of materials
Parents or guardians may have a range of literacy skills in their home language
Bilingual staff or family liaison:
Can be invaluable for fostering parent communication and outreach
Important that bilingual staff are not called away from teaching or student support to interpret
Face-to-face options:
A great way to communicate with ML families
Possible opportunities might be during drop-off or pickup, at community events, or school events.
Consider if you will need to secure an interpreter for these interactions
Snyder, S., & Fenner, D.S (2021). Culturally responsive teaching for multilingual learners. Corwin Sage.
Resources
Use the link above to find more Family Strengthening resources, such as "Raising Children in a New Country: An Illustrated handbook" and "Raising Young Children in a New Country: Supporting Early Learning and Healthy Development".
Parent Session- General.pdfGeneric_Invitation_to_School.pdfUsing a generic family invitation form that can be completed and used for all types of events that occur at the school allows family members to become familiar with it during the school year. The form should be translated into families’ home languages so teachers have less need for ongoing translation services.
Chapter 5 - Newcomer Tool Kit - Parent Engagement.pdf