Communication is the Key
As a school, we are always better able to serve our students with parent involvement than without. One of the biggest strengths of our school is the tremendous amount of support our parents give their children and our school. It always energizes us to see the huge turnout for our annual Open House in September and the Parent Conferences in November. We have an incredible PTA that is committed to raising awareness, as well as money, and increasing communication between the school and the parents. The PTA has become a critical source of two-way communication between the school and the community. Last fall the Shared Decision Making Team conducted a brief survey to gather information from the parents and we received a good response. This type of communication is the key to our success.
Heading into the 2010-2011 school year, I encourage all parents, grandparents and caregivers to communicate regularly. Communication involves listening and speaking, giving and taking information. We will continue to provide the monthly calendars as a means to give information, but those are only useful if they are received. Please take the calendars from the folders and backpacks and post them prominently on the fridge. We will send information on changes or special events throughout the year, but those notices are only useful if they are read and discussed at home. Teachers will continue to send home news and notes, but those are useful only if they are read. One of our main goals this year will be to update the Elementary School pages on the District website to make even more information available to you. By the same token, we will be on the lookout for notes, news and communication from caregivers at home.
There are more ways than ever to communicate these days, but the basic premise is to give and receive information. The more we communicate the more successful we can be at helping our children succeed.
~Submitted by John Cataldo
