JH & HS Principal - Cherokee ISD By Rebecca Sharkey
I have spent a great deal of time speaking about raising our level of expectation in order to better challenge all of our students and encourage them to attain new levels of achievement. Raising expectations is a definitive step in aiding students to meet their potential. However, it is not the only step. Heejae Lim, an education technology entrepreneur, recently stated in a TED Talk that, “research says for a student to do well, a family’s engagement is more important than that family’s wealth.” As a student’s first teacher, this makes perfect sense, yet often parents are an under-utilized and untapped resource.
When I was still in the classroom, I predominantly taught at the high school level. One of my most significant regrets is my mistaken belief that somehow because these students were older that there was no need for much communication between myself and the families of my students. I convinced myself that the students would communicate their own needs or concerns even though I knew that when I was a student this did not happen. My parents would engage in the obligatory after school greeting.
What did you do in school today? Nothing. Do you have any homework? Did it. End scene.
I understand the hesitation. No one wants to hear about how their baby is struggling, but also, no one wants their child to struggle. By and large, parents want to help. They want to support their child in whatever way they can, and it is our responsibility to inform them of what we experience on a daily basis. This is both their strengths and their weaknesses. When I changed chairs and became an administrator, my phone calls home were almost exclusively when something had gone wrong. But, these phone calls were also almost exclusively well received because families want the best for their students. They appreciated the information and were supportive in doing what was necessary to help their students be successful. With this in mind, it is important to make reaching out to parents an important part of our routine. As Lim continued, “When families and schools work together, everyone wins. Students are supported, families are empowered, and teachers’ jobs just become that much easier.”