The ancient African proverb “It takes a village to raise a child” has truth. Research shows that when teachers collaborate and communicate with families, it ultimately benefits the child. However, as times have changed, so have family dynamics and societal challenges. Families may face trials that prohibit them from being involved in their child’s education, from classroom activities to school functions. Teachers can help alleviate some of these challenges by offering alternatives and solutions so that all families have the opportunity to be active participants in their child’s learning and well-being.
Select three of the parental/caregiver challenges from the list below to address at a Family Information Night:
- Financial issues
- Limited opportunities for recreation and leisure
- Sibling issues
- Constant care and supervision of a child with a disability
- Strain on family relationships due to hardships and difficulties
- Logistical issues such as transportation
- Difficulty getting time away from job
- Frequent disability-related crises
- Health issues of family members
- Difficulties obtaining appropriate educational services
- Other family dynamics, such as foster care, group home, parent/guardian away due to military/career
Part 1: Family Challenge Presentation
Design a 10-15 slide digital presentation for families that outlines the selected challenges.
Within your presentation:
Describe each challenge.
Provide potential solutions to each challenge.
Provide strategies to put potential solutions in place.
Identify resources that could help parents facing each challenge.
Discuss how technology could also be a resource for families that face the challenges.
Indicate that your desire is to provide support, not to assume that you know exactly what the families are going through. Consider including a relatable personal experience that, when mentioned briefly, could bridge the gap between you and the families.
include presenter’s notes, a title slide, and a reference slide.
Support your presentation content with 3-5 scholarly resources.
The digital presentation should include graphics that are relevant to the content, visually appealing, and use space appropriately.
Part 2: Communication Plan
Write a 250-500 word communication plan, for a grade level of your choice, to ensure collaboration with families and caregivers. Your communication plan should include how you will communicate with families throughout the school year and identify various communication methods to meet the challenges some families may face. Explain how your plan will incorporate technology.
ANSWER:
Families face a myriad of challenges that can affect the support they offer to their children in school. Educators and school managers should collaborate in the development of communication plans to entrench the involvement of families and caregivers in their children’s learning. Children in the elementary level require support from teachers and parents; hence, the need for a collaboration framework. The communication plan below indicates the collaborative approaches that elementary schools can have with families and caregivers…. To continue reading, click on the button below.