My Professional Growth Plan

Discovery - What strengths are we already using to build community?

As a result of my work as a learning support teacher, I have many more strengths in the area of community relations than I had when I was a classroom teacher. I remember when I first began as a learning support teacher being very daunted by the sheer number of parents with whom I had to interact. Setting up meetings, acting as a liaison with the teacher, providing materials for the home, and discussing some fairly intimate details with parents over the span of years has helped to eliminate a large portion of that discomfort. I marvel now at how comfortable I feel contacting a parent by phone, or meeting in person. That comfort level has also led me to feel much more able to just sit and have a conversation about life and family with those parents as they wait at the end of the day to pick up their child. I feel that these are the preliminary steps that allow me to dream of a time when each teacher, along with myself, can feel comfortable interacting with parents in a manner closer to peer than stranger.

At the school level, we also have many strengths in our interactions with the community. I see some parents interacting daily with teachers, actively interested in their child’s progress. We have begun holding an annual Aboriginal Fair, in which many members of the Aboriginal community volunteer to share the wonderful elements of their culture with our students. Some classes invite a parent volunteer in to occasionally help with reading or art activities. A small number of teachers have developed presentations on self-regulation for families, and have presented these to a few interested parents in evening sessions. Our Meet the Teacher night revolves around a shared meal of pizza on the playground, and some of the teachers interact with the families. These are the beginnings of what can be a beautiful relationship between families and the school.

Dream - What are the challenges in creating a sense of community?

While many teachers and the school as a whole have taken preliminary steps toward making families a stronger part of our school, there are still several obstacles to overcome. Some of these are on the part of the teachers: a feeling of judgement about how parents may have “created” the problems in their children that teachers now have to solve; perhaps a sense of insecurity regarding parents in the classroom judging the teaching going on there; a concern about the safety of having parents - some of whom have criminal records or criminal habits - in the proximity of themselves and the children; the challenge of conversing with parents who don’t speak English comfortably; or an uncertainty of how to successfully use parents in the classroom. Each of these are legitimate concerns, and the on the side of the parents there are similar issues: memories of their own unfortunate school experiences tainting their view of our school; a feeling of insecurity regarding their ability to successfully help in the classroom or school; an unwillingness or inability to commit to a time for volunteering; the challenge of conversing with teachers while not speaking English comfortably; or believing that the school is an environment for their children only. Overcoming these challenges is not the work of a day, and will require time and dedication, as well as the belief that it is worth the effort to build a sense of community for all who enter the doors.

Design - What would our ideal community feel like?

In various classrooms around the school before and after class time, I see the beginnings of community when I witness teachers chatting with the parents who came to see them, and hear the sharing of information in the pursuit of helping a child. This is too often because a child is struggling, and when the issue is resolved, the relationship between parent and teacher drifts apart. What I would most love to see would be represented on parent-teacher evenings: teachers sitting with a plate of food, conversing with parents who are not part of the PAC, who are not part of the “safe” group, but are perhaps new to the community or struggling with English. To see those parents who fought their own way through school looking comfortable sharing food and conversation with someone who used to be viewed as an authoritative “them”.

A second demonstration of an increased sense of community would be to see many more parents volunteering on a regular basis in classrooms. There is such a need for adults to read and interact with our students, and we have many parents who would be available during the day if they were made to feel welcome. I would love to walk by classrooms and see small groups of students working with a parent while the teacher circulates or works with a different group. Art projects, reading centres, math games...all of these areas would greatly benefit from a parent helping to supervise or organize. Even greater involvement could be found if parents were comfortable presenting to classes on topics dear to them (for instance, Aboriginal parents, parents in a variety of careers, parents who have lived in other cultures, etc.).  

Destiny - What can we do to help everyone in the community feel

    valued and accepted?

As a school we have begun to work through the first steps. Friendly conversations occur between numerous members of the staff and parents (albeit a fairly consistent small group of parents). Regarding the vision of teachers and parents interacting easily during functions, there are a number of possibilities:

• Throughout the year create numerous opportunities for teachers and families to interact informally (such as board game nights, seasonal celebration nights, reading nights, potluck dinners, etc.).
• Encourage teachers to try to get to know parents on a deeper level: find commonalities (kids, where you grew up, favourite team) and remember that parents are often intimidated by teachers which may make them appear more defensive than they normally would.
• Included in this is to have teachers offer up some information about themselves to parents, as well. Knowing some personal information about the teacher can help parents to feel like they are speaking to someone they know - a position much more conducive to discussing potentially uncomfortable topics.

For increasing parent involvement in classrooms, there are a number of initiatives that can be enacted:

• Start small with simple reading groups or games that parents can quickly learn and feel confident in supporting.
• Open the invitation up to all parents, not just the ones already familiar to the school.
• Limit the number of volunteer days and times so that parents don’t feel overwhelmed by the time commitment.
• Create a welcoming bulletin board at the front of the school providing information for parents interested in helping out in the school.

There are many different initiatives that schools can put in place to help increase the sense of community for parents, students, and staff. Knowing the resources already in place at my school, as well as the particular needs, I feel that the aforementioned steps are important for developing such a sense of belonging in our school. If I were to put these goals into the SMART framework, it would look like this:

Specific

• Increase the number of parent volunteers in classrooms.
• Increase the number of parent-teacher informal interactions throughout the year.

Measureable

• Count the number of parent volunteers currently (as measured by the names in the sign-in book). Count again throughout the initiative.
• Count the number of informal occasions for parent-teacher interactions. Track the number of parents and teachers who attend. Use anecdotal reporting to determine the quality and number of conversations.

Attainable

• Begin slowly with a few teachers inviting small numbers (1-2) of parents in to volunteer; increase as interest and feelings of success rise.
• Begin with small steps; a few teachers, a few evenings; then grow as interest arises.

Realistic

• There are already initiatives in place, and this would simply further those endeavors. The interest is there for most teachers and many parents, and there is already the infrastructure for volunteering and evening gatherings in place. This is a realistic goal.

Timely

• The time frame for this would be over the next two years. As some groundwork has already been laid (increasing parent evenings and performances; some group rotations in the younger grades that would benefit from extra parent help; and an administration that enthusiastically supports community involvement), this is a good time to expand our parent-teacher interactions.  

As with any Growth Plan, mine will change and evolve as time goes on. I feel, however, that this Plan provides me with the framework for understanding where I will focus my attentions, and the ability to ascertain whether or not I have achieved my goals. I am excited about the possibilities!