Introduction
For the observation of a school and community event, I observed Back to School (BTSN) at Van Ness Elementary School. Since I am a teacher at Van Ness, I had to observe the event as if I was a community member who knew nothing of the school. This allowed me to closely watch how teachers interacted with parents, their effort in welcoming all visitors and how they delivered important information. As I reflect on this experience and my knowledge about the initiatives, programs and policies at Van Ness, I started to analyze some of the school’s efforts and their needs in strengthening their school and family partnership.
Parent and School Collaborative
At Van Ness Elementary School parent involvement is very important to the school. …show more content…
All schools should ensure that parents and students are in engaged and involved in the school culture. One way to engage and involve students is to have clubs for students to join. The only opportunities for Van Ness students to engage in extracurricular activities are during the Spring Board afterschool program. However, the afterschool program cost, as well as the special activities that are offered such as tennis, ballet and soccer. Unfortunately, not all children can afford these extracurricular activities. It could be beneficial to have school organized and sponsored clubs that are free, so more children have the opportunity to join. Overall, this could bring together student and teachers that have the same interests, and allow students to participate in free extracurricular …show more content…
Since the school has a small population, Van Ness can easily meet the individual needs of students, connect with families and give them opportunities to share their thoughts and opinions on school policies and initiatives. As the student and family population grows at Van Ness, there will need to be official systems and protocols for engaging all families. In addition, there needs to be activities that beneficial and interesting to families that are diverse in background, culture and language. Lastly, there needs to be more student involvement. The students at Van Ness should have the opportunity to engage in school organized extracurricular activities. This could allow students to meet other students with the same interests, and give the teachers the chance to become more connected with the
For the observation of a school and community event, I observed Back to School (BTSN) at Van Ness Elementary School. Since I am a teacher at Van Ness, I had to observe the event as if I was a community member who knew nothing of the school. This allowed me to closely watch how teachers interacted with parents, their effort in welcoming all visitors and how they delivered important information. As I reflect on this experience and my knowledge about the initiatives, programs and policies at Van Ness, I started to analyze some of the school’s efforts and their needs in strengthening their school and family partnership.
Parent and School Collaborative
At Van Ness Elementary School parent involvement is very important to the school. …show more content…
All schools should ensure that parents and students are in engaged and involved in the school culture. One way to engage and involve students is to have clubs for students to join. The only opportunities for Van Ness students to engage in extracurricular activities are during the Spring Board afterschool program. However, the afterschool program cost, as well as the special activities that are offered such as tennis, ballet and soccer. Unfortunately, not all children can afford these extracurricular activities. It could be beneficial to have school organized and sponsored clubs that are free, so more children have the opportunity to join. Overall, this could bring together student and teachers that have the same interests, and allow students to participate in free extracurricular …show more content…
Since the school has a small population, Van Ness can easily meet the individual needs of students, connect with families and give them opportunities to share their thoughts and opinions on school policies and initiatives. As the student and family population grows at Van Ness, there will need to be official systems and protocols for engaging all families. In addition, there needs to be activities that beneficial and interesting to families that are diverse in background, culture and language. Lastly, there needs to be more student involvement. The students at Van Ness should have the opportunity to engage in school organized extracurricular activities. This could allow students to meet other students with the same interests, and give the teachers the chance to become more connected with the