You are a second-year preschool teacher who has worked hard to develop rapport with parents and make them feel welcome in your classroom and the school. You have observed that parents have developed a close bond and love to discuss topics related to education (e.g., toilet learning and good toys for young children) as well as subjects related to community life (e.g., neighborhood childcare centers). You approach your center director about creating a parent education plan. She is in favor and encourages you to team up with other teachers to create a plan to implement the program in the fall. For the first step in creating your plan, you and your fellow teachers ask parents directly about their interests. For the second step in your plan, you work with your fellow teachers and parents to determine the style of meeting that you think will promote the richest interactions among parents (e.g., classroom versus whole school). For the third step in your plan, you focus on your role in the meeting. In the past, some parents complained that they did not feel their voices were heard. Above all, you decide you want to create a warm, supportive atmosphere in which you serve as a facilitator of discussions rather than “the expert lecturer.”

Focus Assignment

1. Create a plan for a parent education program. For the first step, write a paragraph to describe how you and your fellow teachers will approach parents to find out what interests and needs they would most like the school to focus on in the upcoming year. Be sure to explain whether you would call an in-person meeting or send home a questionnaire (or both). For the second step, write a paragraph stating the pros and cons of adopting various meeting styles and include which type you decide to use. For the third step, list four strategies you will use to promote discussion, participation, and goodwill during parent meetings.

2. Be sure to read the SELF-EVALUATION section below to guide your thinking. Write your self-evaluation after you have completed your plan.

Self-Evaluation

1. For each step in your plan:
     a. Explain how this step addresses the issues in the scenario.
  

2. Describe and justify how your plan would improve teaching and learning in the scenario.