Parental Involvement and Your Child's Education

Note: This week's Glencoe Classical Academy and Glencoe Learning Center blogs discuss the same topic and contain much of the same information. However, the list of suggestions for parental involvement is tailored according to the age groups of each school.

Parental involvement is instrumental in a child’s education. Research has shown that children and families greatly benefit when parents play an active role in the classroom, the school, and other activities related to the children’s education. There is a strong correlation between student success and parental involvement. While being an engaged parent may mean sacrificing time and energy, the importance of that engagement cannot be expressed enough and the benefits that can be reaped are often too numerous to list.

By volunteering in their child’s classroom and school, parents may benefit in ways such as the following:

1. The parents develop a closer relationship with the child’s teacher and the school’s administration, resulting in better communication among them.

2. The parents gain a better understanding of (and appreciation for) their child’s daily routine and the daily activities their children experience within the classroom.

3. The parents are better able to understand the expectations and standards the teacher and school have for the child.

4. The parents are able to experience first-hand their child’s response to his or her surroundings, teacher, and classmates.

Parental involvement can affect a child in many positive ways such as the following:

1. The child will develop a greater appreciation for his or her education and the efforts of the teacher and parents.

2. If the parents’ attitudes regarding the time they spend volunteering at the school are positive, the child may also develop a good attitude. Additionally, a child’s attitude is frequently exhibited in his or her behavior. The better the attitude, the better the behavior.

3. If the parents encourage students to uphold the classroom and school standards while volunteering, the child will be more apt to obey the classroom and school standards even when the parents aren’t present.

4. If a child sees his or her parents positively interacting with the teacher and administrators, he or she will likely treat those people with the same amount of respect that the parents do.

Below are some suggestions parents can consider when seeking ways to become more actively engaged in their child’s education.

1. Parents can take an active role in daily homework and other projects. Often, children gain a better understanding of concepts by teaching it to others. Parents can aid their child’s comprehension of a subject by allowing the child to “teach” it to them. A daily homework routine allows parents and students to remain accountable and informed.

2. Volunteer time in the classroom. Parents can volunteer to help with a particular area of interest such as literature, art, or science.

3. Parents can volunteer to help during lunch and recess duty or even in the afterschool program.

4. Teachers spend a great deal of time creating lesson plans and making copies; parents can help lighten this load by volunteering to copy worksheets and assignments.

5. Special events, musical performances, and field trips are a great undertaking for teachers and students, but they provide yet another opportunity for parents to be involved.

6. Volunteers could be helpful in the school office by answering the telephone, making copies, filing paperwork, or in a number of other ways.

Any parent interested in volunteering at Glencoe Classical Academy is encouraged to contact his or her child’s teacher or the school administration.