Parent Presentation Karla Hernandez ECE 497 Child Development

Parent Presentation Karla Hernandez ECE 497: Child Development Capstone Course (CNM 1632 A) Instructor Chandra Farmer August 22, 2016

Elementary Education and Child Development As an elementary teacher I have the responsibility to help my students to the fullest of my ability and to guide them to do their best in school. To help them see what their goals are for the school year and to focus on them as we learn every day. To guide their parents to better understand the curriculum given to their children and in that same way they can be of a good asset to their children at home. To always have my classroom open for parents to volunteer and get involved in their children’s classroom. To keep parents and students informed of all the date that changes as their goals are met.

Lincoln Elementary School Information about our school: Out Elementary school has a population of 765 students. It is a big school. The grades at Lincoln Elementary School are form pre-kinder to six grade. 94% of the students are eligible for free and/or reduced lunch, and 58% of the students are second language learners. The majority of the students at Lincoln Elementary School are Hispanic (93%). Five percent of the student population is white, and 2% is American Indian.

Middle Childhood from 6 -11 years

Goals The main reason for this parent presentation, is to simply stay connected with you and your connection with the school, which is a very important part of your child’s life. In this presentation I will give a few ideas on how we can create a better communication and connections with your child’s school, teachers, and happenings that will help you to always stay connected. Between parents workshops, parent involvement meetings, and events to participate in; together we will bring the idea to our students, that family does matter in their life. It is to help them feel the best and come to school positive attitudes and ready to learn. Middle childhood development is a time to stay in your child’s life as they mature and go into their next step in life which is their pre-teen years.

Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological System Explaining the ecological system theory to our parents: “to know that the child as developing with a complex system of relationship affected by multiple levels of the surrounding environment” (Bronfenbrenner, 2005). “Bronfenbrenner’s idea is that the environment has different roles in the child’s life, at home, at school, and in the community/ neighborhood where they spend most of their lives every day” (Child Devleopment, 9 th edition. Pg. 26). In my opinion, child development can be affected by environment children are exposed to while growing up; not only at home, but in schools, and communities. The most important and closes to the child is the Mesosystem. Family is home, then the school where the child gets dropped off at, and last the neighborhood he goes out and plays every afternoon.

The Mesosystem Families, Schools, and Communities are connected “ for example a child’s academic progress depends not just on activities that take place in classrooms but also on parent involvement in school life and on the extent to which academic learning is carried over into the home” ( Gershoff & Aber, 2006) with this, I am reinforcing the need of parent involvement in schools and homes. In low income neighborhoods; schools provide different after school activities to help the students, “other enrichment activities are associated with improved school performance and a reduction in emotional and behavior problems in middle childhood”(Peters, Petrunka, & Arnold, 2003: Vandell & Posner, 1999; Vandell, Reisner, & Pierce, 2007). * For the community surroundings there always after school programs. *Parent workshops are great ideas for us to take into place the idea of the mesosystem and help students work together with parents. Parent workshops are the main idea to introduce parents to the academic ideas that their children are working on and the ways they are learning.

Epstein's Framework first type of Involvement Parenting Parents are the number one resource that students have at home. Together, we can have student led conferences to share what the students are working on and parents can get involved in projects at home to better help them. Working on projects and home work is a must to keep the communication going between school and home. Epstein says that a good result for students when parents are involved is positive personal qualities, habits, beliefs, and values, as taught by family. Parenting: Some parents can help themselves using the adult free education programs that offer different courses, by learning English as their second language they can be sure that they will be able to help their children with any homework they bring home. Reference: Epstein, J. Epstein’s framework of six types of involvement. Partnership Center for the Social Organization of Schools. Retrieved from- Epstein_J. _n. d. . __Epsteins_framework_of_six_types_of_involvemen. pdf

Epstein's Framework Second type of Involvement Communicating To keep communication going between home and school our school provides robot-calls, flyers, and newsletters in three languages: English Spanish Creole Our front office always has an informational stand with all the flyers of things happening in our school. From tutoring, after school academies, and science night for learning; is just a few of the programs you will find in our school.

Epstein's Framework Third type of Involvement Volunteering Our PTO committee is one of the most popular ways to come to the school and volunteer. PTO is very involved in all the activities that our students participate in school. The fifth grade class gets to have a wonderful graduation from elementary Thanks to our PTO staff and volunteers which in most cases are parents like you. A great way to stay connected in all the things that are happening with activities in school and your child, is to be on outside activities like the filed trips and events to support our school. Ask yourself: How can you be of help? I can say to you that just by being here in our campus and giving a helping hand is a great start. "Volunteer to mean anyone who supports school goals and children's learning or development in any way, at any place, and at any time -- not just during the school day and at the school building” (Epstein, J. L. Ph. D. , et. al. , Partnership. Center for the Social Organization of Schools).

Epstein's Framework fourth type of Involvement Learning at Home Learning at home is my favorite because children feel very excited to tell the class the next day that his mom or dad helped him with his homework. It gives a child the feeling of assurance that if homework gets a little hard, it is ok because mom or dad can help. Parents can always make time at home for homework, knowing that this is a very important part of their child’s life at home and school. As a parent you are aware that by helping them with homework; their grade will be have a better chance to improve. Parents , together we are teaching our children the meaning of being responsible and making sure our homework is done always on time for the next day.

Epstein's Framework Fifth type of Involvement Decision Making As the school, we will always provide the parent meeting once a month to make decisions on what the school’s special budgets are spent on and any new materials needed. Always to benefit the learning and academic needs for our students. SAC meetings are very important; you can help by attending to them once a month to keep you on being an active partner on decision making and communication to our community. Uniforms also are one important topic that always come up on meeting discussions for the benefit of low income families. Uniforms are a great asset to have when we have a diversity of lifestyles in our school.

Epstein's Framework sixth type of Involvement Collaborating with Community To collaborate with the community our school also has programs that help families that need medical and dental assistance. Children get glasses as well, they get the opportunity to have the right resources that helps them to keep learning by reading clearly. The community also provides a food bank for low income families that are in need. As your student teacher, I am always looking for ways to help the students receive the most of academic help in school and at home. For this, I commit myself to always look for sponsors that are willing to help the classroom for scholarships, grants, and donations. We can always pass along the good word to those in need and in these way all children are in good hand to get the help they need.

Stay Connected & Stay Involved

References: Berk, L. E. (2013). Child development 9 th edition, chapter 1. pg. 26. Upper Saddle River, NJ Epstein, J. Epstein’s framework of six types of involvement. Partnership Center for the Social Organization of Schools. Retrieved from. Epstein_J. _n. d. . __Epsteins_framework_of_six_types_of_involvemen. pdf