1. Attend Meet the Teacher/Orientation Night: This night is typically held a few day(s) before school starts or a couple of weeks prior. This night is a very important night because parents and their children get to meet the center staff, classroom routines, schedule, and learn where their child belongings, cubby, and tour the classroom.
2. Teachers and parents also get to create an open line of communication with each other and with the administrators. When parents establish an open line of communication with their child's educator, the teacher learn which method of contact is the best way to stay in contact with the parent and the parent is in the loop.
3. Read to and with your child: By reading to your child nightly for as long as they are engaged, this way you can curate a love of education and inspire your child to want to read more.
4. Volunteering: Teachers often have their hands full in the classroom and always looking for parents to lend them a helping hand. By asking your child's educator how you can help in the classroom, especially during the year when testing, end of the year activities, etc.
5. Show an active interest in learning with your child at home: When parents demonstrate a love of learning, their children tend to develop interests too. Children learn best through play and parents being actively involved.
6. Attending Parent/Teacher Conferences: This is a great way to stay up to date with what your child's school is learning in the classroom, as well as what things he or she need to work on during our quarterly parent/teacher conference nights. At our center, we have Parent Advisory Committee, (PAC) where parents help to plan activities such as graduation, spring carnival, winter dance, Teacher Appreciation month, and several other activities throughout the program year.
7. Open Door Policy: Pre-COVID many of our classrooms had an open-door policy where parents were invited to come into the school and experience what their child's day is like. Due, to COVID-19, parents are not allowed to enter the building, so we host where parents are able to join us on ZOOM for activities. We will monitor this policy, as things hopefully start to get better with vaccines and ensuring the children and teachers safety come first before anything.
8. Connecting with your other families in your child's classroom. Often there are times when children build bonds with their classmates; by interacting with their peers. Naturally, some parents want to get together outside of the school, and they have playdates and build strong friendships, and relationships.
9. Attending monthly school events: Many schools celebrate various events that celebrate different cultures, background, and diversity (i.e., friendship days, thanksgiving family dinner, Grandparents Day, Fall festival, back to school, and many more.).
10. Communication forms: Quarterly, parents are notified by email, phone call, or through the center app Tadpoles, parents may visit the center to retrieve this form or the app for updated information regarding their child to see if their child's school provides or use daily communication forms to communicate. The Tadpole’s app is a great form of communication for parents who are always on the go and love receiving things electronically. Schools, often paper, emailed, or electronical digital copies that can be sent through an app or directly through parent’s emails. During enrollment and the intake session, parents fill out which form of communication works for their family.