3 Tips to Increase Parent Involvement

Getting parent involvement in your classroom makes a huge difference in your students’ lives! This is all about breathing fresh air into your classroom and re-establishing best practices for your class.  Additionally, with CDC recommendations and guidelines to come back to the classroom, it is also a good opportunity to (re)connect with remote learning students’ parents.   

Be sure to lay a strong parent involvement foundation by:

• Communicating often with parents about the importance of parental involvement
• Have known expectations and set up a clear structure on how parents can communicate with you
• Showcase what is happening in the classroom to create a sense of community

Class Announcements and Events are a great way to connect the classroom parent community and get parents involved. Whether you’re still teaching remotely or in person, we have some great ways to increase parent involvement.

The big question then is how do you get those uber-busy parents to engage?  Three words: fun, invitation, and kudos!

Make Parental Involvement FUN!

While there is a place for an information-packed announcement, try to insert some fun and humor into your next announcement! Parents love seeing what is going on in the classroom, even if you’re virtual – and let’s face it, kids are FUNNY, and sometimes parents need permission to have fun 😉 !

Here is some other fun way to get parents involved is through interactive announcements:

• Give parents specific questions to ask their kids about what happened during school and beat the dreaded one-word answers when parents ask, “How was school.” Focus on a fun lesson plan in the classroom or something students responded positively towards.
• Play games with parents! Play “would you rather” in the classroom with students and have them record their answers. Then, make an Announcement and have parents guess what their child would rather do. The parent with the most correct guesses wins!
• Snap a picture or record a video of something happening in the classroom, along with a fun story that will capture parents’ attention. Remember: You can upload to YouTube and embed right within a ClassTag Announcement!
• Use Announcements as a poll. Parents can react to the choice they’d like to pick with an emoji, and you get instant feedback (and emojis are a fun way to communicate).
• Have parents get students to go on a virtual adventure at home!

Many, many more will participate if it’s fun. Ensure your parents know that smiles and laughter are good for everyone, in and out of school. Finding this balance between work and fun is a key element to securing parent involvement. In doing so, you will not only build a united group of parents willing to dedicate their time to your classroom, but you will also fight parent burnout and create lasting relationships.

Invite Parents to Get Involved In and Out of the Classroom

Reach out to all parents in your classroom, not just the ones who are always ready willing or the ones who are easy to reach. Having the same parents contribute to your classroom is stagnant and not worthwhile. Create an opportunity for new parents to get involved by sending out a classroom event asking for parent volunteers.  Additionally, let parents help brainstorm ways they can get involved in the classroom through an Announcement. 

Here are some fun ways parents you can get parents involved in your classroom:

• Have parents sign-up for “Read-aloud” slots using ClassTag Events. Parents get a chance to look into the classroom world while kiddos get a fun story! For in-person learning, have parents use video conferencing and project it!
• Create a virtual or in-person talent show and get parents to help their kids tap into their creative side. Pass along these 50 Talent Show ideas to get parents started.
• Hold office hours with parents. You can have one-on-one conversations with them about their child, or you can offer some “professional development”. Parents want to help their child succeed but may need help knowing what to do.
• Host a “Cooking Night” once a month. Have parents and kids join and have a simple recipe for them to follow. You can always drop the ingredient list in an announcement a couple of weeks ahead! You can even do something special for Pi Day in March!

Pro-tip: Remember that all events sync with Google Calendar and automatically adds a Google Meet link for video conferencing for both you and your parents. 

Give Kudos!

Just like giving credit to a student when they’ve gone the extra mile, make certain to give kudos to parents when they deserve it. A moment that you take to acknowledge their contribution and efforts is never a moment wasted, especially with all the stress around COVID. Also, get parents and kids involved with giving kudos – we all need a little kindness!

Need some simple ideas to recognize parents and students? We have you covered:

• Send an announcement recognizing parents who participated in an event, along with sharing some fun tidbits about what they did to make the event successful.
• Have “Sunshine Days”, where you can recognize families and things that make them unique!
• Plan a Random Act of Kindness day. Let kids, parents, and staff get involved. Need ideas? Check out our LIVE Session with the Random Acts of Kindness Foundations!

Research has shown that children with involved parents get better grades and score higher on tests. These students tend to be more positive about school. It’s no secret you’re positive about school, and you would love your students and families to share your same enthusiasm.

We hope you have an idea you’d like to try with your next announcement on ClassTag!

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