Why involvement opportunities for parents and family members
benefit young children, families, and the early childhood field
Parent, Family and Community Engagement is a very
important system in Head Start. The Parent and Families Stories enlightened me
to understand the importance of the role of the parent in Head Start. The stories came from all facets, they were intriguing,
uplifting and powerful to read as a parent and teacher. The stories were truthful, heartfelt and honest. Head Start relies on
parental engagement in the classroom environment. Over the past ten years of
working with head start, I have learned that family and community engagement is
key to increasing student achievement and their readiness for college, career
and life. Head Start focus on partnering with parents, educators, local
businesses, churches, community organizations, elected officials, city
departments strengthens the connections between the program and the community.
From the stories, I learned that parents knew about the resources that Head
Start provided for both the children and parents. After reading the Parent and
Families stories on ECKLC, I am just convinced that success happens in Head Start
classroom when families, students and educators work together in a holistic
approach as each focus on the child’s academic, social, and emotional needs.
The value that hearing such stories has for early childhood
professionals, for the public, and for policymakers and government officials
The stories of the parents, families and community
gives parents the ease of knowing that their invested in supporting their
child’s learning efforts, which makes teaches as myself and others feel that there
is an extended team that is willing to work with to help students reach their
goals. Stories like the ones on ECKLC need to be told to teachers which gives
them an extra boost and incentive to keep doing the great job that they are
doing. The stories were real life situations that others parents can read and
understand from first hand. I am thankful to work in Head Start and every day,
I hear similar stories of the tools, resources and education that Head Start
has provided to them. Am glad that I can
be a part of a community that works together to help the children of tomorrow
become lifelong learner.
Resources
Early Childhood Learning and Knowledge Center (ECLKC), part
of the Office of Head Start. http://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/hs/about/stories/pfs.
Arthurine, great post! I use to work as a Family Advocate for a Head Start program. This one a huge challenge for us, Family Engagement because of the lack of interest the parents had in participating. We tried everything from door prizes to feeding them and it was still a challenge. I just wish that more parents understood the importance of participating in the program their child is part of. I love that Head Start sees and promotes this importance.
ReplyDeleteArthurine,
ReplyDeleteI believe it is so important to make sure that we, as professionals, do our part to inform families of learning opportunities as well as connect with them so that there is an understanding of how important engagement is for their future of their family and child. Helping them learn about why engagement is important is one of the reasons why I decided to go into this field.
Jazmin
Great minds think alike, what are some strategies for increasing parent participating in family engagement activities? I think families want to support us, but time is so precious and in such high demand.
ReplyDeleteWe did a series of trainings this year where we talked about strategies we use in the classroom, parents shared what they did at home, and then we charted out how we could help one another (teachers telling parents, parents telling teachers). It was a very insightful process for parents and staff!