Methods and Technique Paper on Family Involvement

Imagine the experience of a parent at HCC Early Childhood Lab School. Parents enter this program feeling welcomed by all teachers and have the freedom to experience and participate with their child. The program caters to families of diverse cultures such as single parents, divorce, blended, step families, extended, and gay/lesbian backgrounds. They know to sign in upon arrival and know the class's daily routines. Parents know to remind their child to wash their hands when they first arrive and to place the child's lunch into the refrigerator. There are pictures of child's portraits, posters of different families, and pictures of adult and child interactions showing parents that they are welcome encouraging their involvement.

Teachers at this facility have open communication with the parents and speak freely with them about their child. If the parent is not able to meet with the teacher they will receive phone calls, letters to their home, hold conferences, or even send out emails pertaining to the wellbeing of their child. When the head teacher noticed a problem with speech development with one of his students, he spoke to the parent about a program that works with the school to help in this area. The parent expressed interest in this program so the teacher contacted the program immediately to set up private meetings. There is a NAEYC poster hung high on the wall showing that this is an accredited site that has to meet certain performance standards to be funded. This reassures most parents knowledgeable about NAEYC that this school has passed a series of inspections.

This program has established that two-way relationship in which information and power is shared with parents. They have a handbook that is past out to parents as well as students coming to participate or observe the class that explains all protocol of the classroom. The program is more geared towards low-income families that live in Bridgeport. There is a 42 slot scholarship that is giving to residences of the city on a first come first serve basis. Once the slots have been filled and space is available the program is open to any parent who is looking for a safe place to bring their child and is charged weekly or daily rates. There is no discrimination against different religions; in fact the teachers are of diverse backgrounds and ethnicities themselves. This school understands all of their family's circumstances and challenges so have obtained that special bond with them. They see families as systems that can help serve the children and are able to build family partnerships more effectively.

The Lab School is so successful in building a strong foundation with parents because they communicate with messages like the tennis ball message where it is easily tossed and easily received. The style of their communication is Assertive where parents and children are spoken to thoughtfully and considerately. This form of communication is contagious