父母作为扫盲伙伴

引领田纳西州教育创新(LIFT) is a group of Tennessee districts working together to explore innovative approaches and share best practices that benefit students. One of LIFT’s primary areas of focus has been improving literacy outcomes in the early grades.

2018年春天, Trousdale and Sullivan County Schools surveyed parents regarding their child’s early literacy instruction. Parents have an intimate view of their child’s literacy progress and needs, 但他们的声音很容易被忽视. 下面, leaders from these two districts share what they learned from parents and why they prioritized hearing their feedback.

• Demetrice Badru is the principal of Trousdale County Elementary School
• Dr. Robin McClellan is the Supervisor of Elementary Education with the Sullivan County Department of Education
• Deanna Zarichansky is the Assistant Principal at Trousdale County Elementary School

Why are families important partners in your efforts to improve literacy outcomes?

Demetrice: Fostering a positive relationship between home and school impacts the learning outcomes of students because parents are students’ first teachers. Our parents are always excited to extend learning at home, and a partnership between a school and families is critical to ensure all students become strong readers.

Robin: Families are a tremendous resource as a checkpoint for a child’s transfer of knowledge and application of skills. They provide the time, attention, and resources for children to fall in love with reading.

What priorities do parents in your district have for their children?

Demetrice: Parents want students to come to school to be safe, to learn, and to grow. They want their children to be stretched academically and to be challenged in a well-rounded way.

Robin: 父母希望他们的孩子有光明的未来. 他们希望自己的孩子为上大学或就业做好准备. 他们希望他们的孩子热爱学校, 从事于学习, and to be equipped with the skills necessary to lead a happy life.

How have leaders and teachers in LIFT districts worked to build trusting relationships with families?

迪安娜: Our teachers spend a lot of time communicating with parents. We use daily communication sheets, a school website, and frequent phone calls. But our teachers also go to games and see families at the grocery store. We take any opportunity we have to communicate with parents and meet families where they are, 而不是总是让他们来找我们.

Robin: Our teachers build trusting relationships through transparency and respect. They communicate regularly through a variety of platforms. They provide specific, tailored ways for families to support their child’s learning. They celebrate accomplishments—no matter how great or small. 通过强耦合, 具有挑战性的课程和高期望, families are more connected to student learning because their children can now have rich conversations about the world around them.

What did you learn from families when you asked for their feedback?

迪安娜: 家长们一致认为他们的孩子阅读能力更好. 我们很高兴家长看到我们的教育有好处, and we believe the investments we’ve made in instructional materials and teacher development contribute to that success. 我们希望每个孩子都成为一个强大的读者, and we hope to partner with parents to make sure that happens.

Demetrice: We also heard that our families want more communication from us. They want specific examples about how to help match what happens at school with support at home—especially how they can fill any gaps for kids if additional support is needed. 他们想知道他们的孩子什么时候掌握了内容, 他们想知道如何进一步推动它们.

Robin: The vast majority of families indicated their student is excited about the topics in the reading curriculum, 是扩大词汇量吗, and is a better reader because of the instruction s/he received. 定性, they shared the stories behind the numbers—stories about building confidence, 好奇心, 一个更全面的学生. One major lesson learned is that parents want more frequent updates. They want to know more about how to support their students’ developing skills at home. We are now tackling that as a group, and our teachers are strategically planning to bridge the gap.

这将如何改变你的工作进展?

迪安娜: 识字是我们的一大重点, so we want to further our partnership with families to develop strong readers. We are beginning a “Text Tuesday” with our Kindergarten parents this fall. This idea came up in response to parents wanting to know more about what kids are learning and how to help at home. We wanted to try communicating more via text message after giving the parent survey via text and having a really strong response rate.

Demetrice: Every week we will send a text about what kids are learning and a practical idea about how to extend learning outside of the school day. 我们希望将这种做法推广到各个年级. We also ensure that newsletters go home to share information about the content of upcoming units, 所以父母更了解孩子在学习什么.

Robin: 所有K-3老师都分析了我们的家庭调查数据, 现在他们正在建立一个全区范围的, 年级家庭通讯. 透过本期通讯, parents will hear about topics their child is learning about, 以及正在教授的基本技能. Additionally, they will receive tips and tricks on how to help their child at home.


考特尼贝尔 is the Director of Educator Engagement at the State Collaborative on Reforming Education (SCORE).

(这篇文章也出现在SCORE的博客上 tnscore.org)