I am breaking away from my normal crafting posts to blog about another topic near and dear to my heart....parent involvement.
As a past Head Start teacher and administrator I have worked side by side with parents in the field of education and have seen the dramatic results parents can make when they choose to be involved at school. No one can come up with all the ideas, all the strategies, all the initiatives and programs by themselves. We need a variety of perspectives to assist our youth in being successful in their education.
As a member of the 2011 Mom Congress (Parenting.com) I was asked this week to write a letter to my daughter talking about how I plan to work to work to make her school and the education she receives the best that it can be. I wanted to share my letter to my daughter with each of you in hopes it will inspire many of you to share you own stories or to get involved in your own children's schools and education.
Meliah,
I want you to have the best education possible! This is not limited just to academics either, I want you to grow up to be a well rounded person. From my own experience in the field of education for me this includes:
Academics
Health
Nutrition
Social/Emotional development
With the above in mind, I want you to know how hard I will continue to work not only to make sure that you have a well rounded education experience, but that all children in our country receive the same.
I believe in the ability we all have to choose...we can choose to complain about what we do not like or we can choose to roll up our sleeves and pitch in to make it better. I choose to roll up my sleeves and pitch in. I have no desire to rally troops for a cause. My desire is to work with the staff in your school to build a relationship of mutual trust and respect and then find out what the needs are and work to fill them. In order to create educational change we need to unite with teachers, administrators, custodians, cooks, aides, and all staff at the school and district level. We need to work hand in hand to bring about the change that is needed.
You are quite fortunate to be living in a state with a strong education system. Even more fortunate to live in community within our state that has strong schools. There is room for improvement of course just as there is anywhere, but you are very lucky. You have amazing teachers at your school and support staff as well. Parent Involvement is also strong at your school thanks to the leadership of your principal.
I promise you that I will continue working hand in hand with everyone at school to provide a top notch education for you. This includes continuing to serve in a leadership role for character education, helping out each week in your classroom, serving on the governing board, volunteering for school events, and working to improve the school nutrition program. This year we are also working to get more parents and grandparents involved at school so there is even more help for students who need it.
I feel so fortunate to be able to contribute the time I do to making a difference at your school!
Love,
Mom
