Reply to Parents not doing anything to improve neighborhood school

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I have a child in a Title 1 school EotP and am eager to help out in every way I can to make the school more successful than it has been in the past.

I agree with 15:27 [b]that having a friendly and supportive administration can make or break parent efforts -[/b] in fact, that PP could be talking about our school. We have a new principal this year as well, and she has been much more receptive to the PTA than the previous principal was.

It has been helpful to me to meet with her and discuss what her priorities are for the school this year, and then to figure out ways that I and other parents can help her reach those goals. It has also been helpful to speak directly to teachers at all grade levels (not just my child's teacher) to see what their needs are. It's important to be very sensitive to the reality that most teachers are already working very hard. I try not to add to anyone's burden and try to offer as much assistance as I can. This year, I've supervised field trips, provided snacks and classroom materials (including books), organized a uniform drive and a coat drive, helped put together 3 all school events that have been well received, hosted open houses and PTA meetings and tried to improve the school's outward-facing communications.

It's not enough, obviously. You can bake hundreds of cookies and spend hours in the school every week and that's not going to counteract the degree to which some kids are well below grade level, struggle with learning and are not getting the support at home that they need to be successful at school. What I've tried to do this year is support the teachers and the new principal in certain areas so that they can focus on actually educating the students. I hope it helps.

My goal next semester is to volunteer as a reading coach for kids who need help learning how to read. Our school works with Reading Partners to do that, and getting them involved in any low performing school would probably be a good thing for the overall literacy of the student body. [/quote]

I mean the parents might get more programs put in place but overall the administration can be super supportive yet still nothing really improves.

Reading coaches, reading partners, etc. - meh, they help very marginally. Kids visit them too infrequently to make a dent in their lacking skills.[/quote]

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