Word 97/98 version
Word 6/95 version
Text version
PDF version

1. Prepare Handouts including: -- Content standards in parent friendly language you will be working on this year.

• An activity sheet (like the one included in this tool) that includes a single problem/activity, a brief scoring guide, the related curriculum objective and the appropriate content standard parent friendly language.

• Behavioral and grading guidelines

• "Activities You Can Do at Home to Help Your Child Achieve at High Levels" (use handout here or adapt for your particular class).

2. Review "What are Standards? Why are They Important? Talking Points Principals (and Teachers) Can Use When Talking with Parents." These should be incorporated into your presentation, particularly your introduction and conclusion.

3. Keep the Energy Up. You have less than 10 minutes to communicate the importance of your class and the work your students are doing. Get your parents attention by keeping your energy level high and keeping the presentation fast moving. This is of course more and more difficult -- and more and more critical -- as the night wears on.

4. Reinforce the Child's Perspective. If possible, have parents sit in their children's seats. Go quickly through with them what a typical day in class is like -- the type of activities, as well as homework collection, return, review, and assignment. Emphasize the academic challenge facing the children, and your commitment to ensuring that everyone performs to their potential.

5. Make It Interactive. Break things up a little. Use an Activity Sheet like the one in this tool to ask parents to solve a brief problem or question. Scold parents who aren't prepared with a pencil -- as you might a student -- but have extras available. Make sure that the problem or question is challenging, perhaps a little tricky. After a minute, ask for volunteers if you are comfortable. Or simply explain the answer or answers and relate it to a scoring guide, as well as the relevant curriculum objective and content standard. Reinforce to parents that even if you can't answer the question, their kids will be able to answer it and more difficult ones as well. The message is: the work is hard, it is all organized according a set of common standards. It will stretch your kids, but I'm going to make sure everybody succeeds.

6. Reinforce the Importance of Parent Involvement. Tell parents that you have their kids for 35-40 minutes a day. Whatever they can do outside of school to make sure their kids stay focused on their schoolwork and stay interested is critical to ensuring that all students achieve to high levels. Refer to "Activities You Can Do at Home to Help Your Child Achieve at High Levels," which will be handed out during the initial overview, for particular ways parents can be involved.