Empowering Parents
Presented by
Renee Christman& Kathleen Gorham
2014 ELL Symposium
Ideas to improve parent engagement in four areas:• Helping the classroom teacher
• Creating an ELL Parent Night
• Positioning the ESL teacher as a resource
• Promoting cultural awareness
Helping the classroom teacher
• The ESL teacher
shouldn’t be the
only one
communicating
with the family
• Share what you know
• Train staff how to use
interpreters and
translators
• Explain importance of
native literacy
• Clarify and simplify
Providing Suggestions for ELL Parents: Be sensitive to the cultural context of the family when making suggestions. Remember that the parents come from various backgrounds and they often have different expectations about school than your native language students. Build on the parents comfort level before you make suggestions.
Establish a routine for checking and completing homework.
Suggest that parents ask their children to explain what they did in school each day using their take-home papers.
Encourage parents to use their native language with their children. We want their first language to continue to develop as they learn English.
Encourage children to read regularly in their first or second language.
Offer various ways for staying in touch with your email, phone, or notes to school.
R. Christman - 2012 Baldwin-Whitehall School District
How to effectively use
Interpreters for Parent-Teacher Conferences
and other meetings
Baldwin-Whitehall
School District
• Assign a buddy
• Give classroom teachers ownership of parent contacts
• Provide information before unfamiliar holidays
• Encourage native literacywith both staff and your ELL parents
Parent Teacher Conferences
• Schedule with interpreters
• Give reminders
• Allow extra time
• Avoid educational jargon
• Explain what you expect of parents
• Ask parents questions about their concerns
• Facilitate other services & programs
At Open House:• Provide hands-on activities to complete
with students • Provide tasks for parents
• Feed back is always appreciated!
Creating an ELL Parent Night
• Pick an accessible site
• Involve your principals
• Provide interpreters
• Focus on immediate
needs
• Show how to access resources on the district website
• Explain the B and P on our lunch menus
B – Beef P – Pork
• Explain report
cards
& American
expectations of
parents
• The school nurse can explain procedures for medicine and sicknesses
• Again, encourage literacy in the language parents are most comfortable with
And…… provide food!
The ESL teacher as a resource
• The ESL teacher should empower the reg ed teachers by sharing her knowledge and tools!
• Share information
• Build library
collections
• Suggest needed professional development
• Make translations accessible
• Know the supporting agencies
• Provide interpreters for all events
• ESL field
trips build
background
• Check local museums and attractions for
scholarships and corporate sponsors
• Work with community partners
SHIM Family Center
Afterschool Program
• Share community resources
Great resources by Diane Staehr Fenner
Common Core for English Learners Equity Audit Consideration
Questions to Ask: To What Degree…
Strengths
Actions
Role of ESL Teacher
Are ESL Teachers working as experts, advocates, and consultants? Are they effectively collaborating with general education teachers in implementing the CCSS?
Instructional materials & curriculum
Are CCSS-based instructional materials and curriculum appropriate for ELs?
Professional development
Does PD focus on preparing all teachers to implement the CCSS for ELs?
Assessment
Are teachers aware of the demands of CCSS assessments for ELs? Do they adjust instruction accordingly?
EL parent outreach
Are EL parents aware of implications of the CCSS and CCSS-aligned assessments?
Teacher evaluation
Is teacher evaluation for all teachers inclusive of ELs accessing the CCSS?
Promoting cultural awareness• Go beyond the multicultural festival
• Storytellers from different cultures
• Open House provides opportunities to share food,
music or dance
Students are our best resources!
• “You may walk past me
in the hall every day but
do you know why I am
here?”
• Teach their language
• Students will also know what
talents parents can share
• Involve students in clubs and sports
• Share successes with school board
• Encourage classroom read-alouds that are relevant to ELLs in the room
• Find and suggest culturally relevant books to librarian
• Use community events to educate and strengthen school relationships
Make
parents
feel welcome
any time &
they will become
your allies in education!