Assignment 1: Programs and Services Available for Parents by XXXXXX MAT 697 Applied Professional Experience in Mathematics Education Nova Southeastern University XXXXXXX Introduction Parent involvement is an important part of a child’s education. The more involved a parent is, the more likely a student is to succeed. Furthermore, a child who has parents that are aware and on top of the progress of their child in school, the more motivated a child might be towards their own education. Not all schools offer the best programs, and with charter schools the same is to be said. Unlike county schools, charter schools choose to follow their own set of rules and depending on availability or proper staffing, the school will have programs that allow parents to participate and become more familiar with the school their child attends. The charter school where I work is no different, and although parent involvement is encouraged, oftentimes the parental involvement is absent. Programs and Services Available One program available to parents through my field experience school is the Student Advisory Council (SAC). The ultimate purpose of the SAC committee is to provide support with the preparation of the school improvement plan and the school budget (SOURCE). Our school uses the committee for a different purpose. It is used as an informational meeting given four to five times a year to inform parents of the school’s progress, activities taking place, and educational best practices that are occurring in the classrooms. Furthermore, parents can give input on the different things occurring at the school and administrators take suggestions given by parents about a wide range of areas that require improvement. Another program available to parents at my field experience school are the Parent Universities. This program takes place about three to four times a year, each time focusing on a specific subject that will be required to take a state exam at the end of the school year. Through these parent universities, teachers provide parents with strategies to help students practice at home and activities for students and parents to work on together (SOURCE). There is usually one teacher per grade level divulging this important information for parents. This is a wonderful opportunity for parents to get extra resources to help their child at home. Open house and meet and greets are also available for the parents at this school. Meet and greets usually happen the week before school starts. Parents and students can briefly meet their teachers for the upcoming year and they can get a closer look at where their classrooms are located. This is the perfect opportunity for parents and teachers to exchange information. Open house is an annual event very common in a lot of schools where parents come into the school to, not only meet the teachers, but also to get an overview of what the classroom expectations are and what students and parents can both expect from the teacher. Finally, this field experience school offers Exceptional Student Education (ESE) and ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) services for students. While the school participates in the identification, evaluation, and monitoring of said students, the services provided do not compare to those of a public school. The school does follow any Individualized Educational Plan (IEP) provided or established, but the truth is, some students do not have the variety of accommodations or programs that a public school might have available. Nevertheless, students are pulled out of class and have one on one meetings with assistants depending on the subject area they have trouble with. Additional Programs Suggested There are a variety of other programs that should be provided for parents to participate in. In my opinion, programs that include the participation of both parents and students are the ones that have the biggest turnout of parents and ultimately, that is the goal; parent involvement. For example, one program that I have heard of is called Reading Under the Stars. This program happens twice a year and it allows students to come to school in their pajamas after school hours to sit or lay in the school’s outdoor court yard and read stories under the stars. Parents are welcome to participate by wearing pajamas too and even choosing a book to read to the kids. I think programs like this give a sense of unity to the home and school life of the child. It also builds a positive relationship between teachers, students, and parents. Another program that has been used before but never enforced or properly advertised, in my opinion, is parent conference nights. Parent conference nights allow for parents to come into the school and meet with their child’s teachers just to get a quick overview of the child’s progress in class. This is a wonderful opportunity for those parents that have a busy schedule to just dedicate one night to their child and school without having to worry about speaking to all teachers on different days. I think the problem in the past with this type of program comes in when the privacy of the student is not protected if various teachers are in the same classroom or the amount of time a teacher might take with one parent. If all the kinks are worked out, I think this would be a wonderful opportunity for parents to be more involved in their child’s education and progress during the school year. Conclusion To conclude, there are countless programs available for schools to implement to help with parent involvement in the school. It is up to the school and its teachers to decide what works for their school and the parents. Nevertheless, when there is low parental involvement, school tactics should be changed to capture the attention of the parents. Parental involvement is not established overnight, but just as the culture of a school takes about three years to change, the same is to say about how parents learn about their responsibility to the child and their child’s school. Parental involvement is expected and encouraged, but sometimes it must be taught. References MAT 679 Programs and services available for parents Rubric – Assignment 1 Criteria Clarity of Response Content Accuracy Presentation Exceeded (5 points) Met (3-4 points) The essay’s organization (beginning, body and ending) is logical and appropriate to the topic making it easy to read. The essay is focused on the topic; all points are explored and aligned with the original question. Key statements are supported by specific details or examples and transitional links between ideas are evident. The essay’s organization is logical to the topic making the essay easily read without too much confusion. The essay is focused on the topic but does not fully address the question. The writer provides supporting details and more than three examples containing accurate factual information related to the various programs and services available for parents. The writer provides relevant details and at least three examples but has not fully addressed the topic or identified various programs and services available for parents The writer provides brief details and less than two examples of various programs and services available for parents There are no misconceptions or factual errors. There are 2-3 factual errors. There are more than 3 factual errors. The essay fully documents sufficiency of parental involvement or defends why no additional programs are needed. The essay documents sufficiency of parental involvement or defends why no additional programs are needed. The essay does not clearly document sufficiency of parental involvement or defend why no additional programs are needed. The writer’s evaluation of the sufficiency of programs and services demonstrates understanding of the topic. In-text citations are provided to support claims. The writer’s evaluation of the sufficiency of programs and services provide little evidence or depth of understanding the topic. Less than 3 grammatical, mechanics, APA, references, etc., mistakes 3 or more grammatical, mechanics, APA, references, etc., mistakes Research supporting all claims are provided. The writer’s evaluation of the sufficiency of programs and services available to parents demonstrates a strong grasp of the topic. In-text citations are provided to support all claims. Error free (header, page number, grammar, mechanic, APA, references, etc.) Totals Score: _______ out of 40 Key statements are supported by details or examples. Not Met (1-2 points) The essay organization lacks a clear sense of direction. The essay does not fully address the topic. It responds to the question vaguely. Key statements are not supported by specific details or examples. Missing are transitioning links. 
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