As a member of the Arts Education Council, I’m pleased to be participating in this blog this week. I run an outreach unit at Columbia College Chicago called the Center for Community Arts Partnerships (CCAP) that supports and facilitates reciprocal networks and collaborations among schools, community based arts organizations and Columbia…the nation’s largest arts, media, and communications college. Our primary focus is learning in and through the arts, and our programs runs the gamut between community schools, college readiness, arts integration, service learning, and parental engagement initiatives.
As one of the focal points for this blog is to address the issue of what parents should know about, or what’s important for them to do in support of, arts education…I’ll point to something that we like to encourage within our parental involvement work: develop parent leadership within the school. Scores of public schools across the nation desperately need a jolt of increased parental involvement, and one of the best ways to deliver on that is for school communities to focus on how to cultivate parental leadership. This may emerge through external partners working on programs in the school (such as CCAP); it may be supported or initiated by principals or teacher leaders in the school who are dedicated to cultivating more parental engagement. Some schools are lucky enough to have a savvy, committed parent who self-initiates an active parent group through his or her own organizing (in conjunction with school leadership ideally).
Just as teachers often most appreciate professional development delivered by their peers, parents similarly trust each other first, and respond most effectively within an environment in which they feel they are understood and can bring up concerns and questions in a non-confrontational way amongst themselves. Many parents in our inner city schools unfortunately have a default assumption that the principal or school leadership are forces to contend with as opposed to allies to work along side—who wish to collaborate on the best way to serve their children. Once that misconception is tackled, a group of dedicated parents who actively participate can do wonders. And if the goal is increasing arts education opportunities, then vocal input on the part of engaged parents can go a long way to impacting school improvement plans, how discretionary funds are allocated, or how community resources might be better leveraged in supporting arts related programming during or after school.
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Yes,you are right about misconceptions between parents and school staff. Simply stating this fact is not enough. What is needed is for the school staff to show the parents they truly are partners with the same interest and that is what is best for the child. All good partnerships need to have open communication. Open meaning about all activity good and bad. When parents know that they are recognized as partners in their child’s education they usually work with the school staff to help their child do better in school. Again, communication is key. Schools need to have family nights and events so the teachers and parents get to know each other in order to start dialogue. Calls have to be made about students well being good and bad. This process takes hard work not mere acknowledgment.