New Haven Independent

posted by: K Hagearty on November 3, 2009  7:34am

What a great piece.  I wish I had known about it to watch it.  We have some really great teachers in New Haven.  I always found my child’s teachers helpful, open and accessible.

The news and focus on the teacher contract and school reform campaign hasn’t really acknowledged the role of parents in a meaningful way for me.  It has made me wonder more than ever about the school system’s perspective.  I hope this topic “Building Parent/Teacher Cooperative Teams” really comes to life in all our schools.

posted by: Ronelle P. Swagerty on November 3, 2009  1:17pm

I can’t think of a more meaningful topic to discuss than parents and teachers working together to ensure that all children receive a high quality education. I’m thrilled that Kim Outlaw and Joevania Alexandre, both teachers from New Beginnings Family Academy public charter school in Bridgeport, and Deidre Lindsay, an NBFA parent, were among those sharing and learning. Thanks, 21st Century Conversations, for producing such an important piece.

posted by: ms.mary on November 3, 2009  10:58pm

Thanks,21st century conversations for having me on the show I look forward to watching and learning many ideas to help improve relations with all our schools.

posted by: Karlen Meinsen on November 4, 2009  12:54am

The forum was an inspiring, intelligent, caring group of educators who clearly represent the millions of “pockets” around the world of people who care for and want the best for their children.  We need to celebrate the hard work and dedication of all of those individuals for it is the single most important and noble job in the world: caring for, educating, and raising children.  Work together and remember why you entered the profession.

-Karlen Meinsen

posted by: Math Teacher on November 4, 2009  12:46pm

I agree with everything the other teachers stated in this article.  At open houses and conferences I often hear parents saying, “I didn’t learn math this way” or “I am bad at math.”  My response is always the same: if you don’t feel comfortable teaching the math concepts at home, have your child teach you and then they will be reteaching the concept to themselves.  If your child is saying “I don’t get it” on the homework, have s/he look back in his/her notes and read them to you, then the two of you can try the problems together.  And ALWAYS have a positive attitude to model for your child!

posted by: Linda on November 4, 2009  9:36pm

I had the opportunity to view the show last Thursday.  It was great to see educators and parents come together in order to focus on what is in the best interest of students. When all stakeholders(educators, parents, and community members) are involved in educating our students, they have a better chance at becoming life-long learners and productive citizens.  Thanks “21st Century Conversations” for producing another great show.

posted by: Doreen Richardson on November 5, 2009  12:18am

This is the essence of parental engagement.Too often parents are accused of not caring or doing enough without any consideration for this simple fundamental fact - parents are not certified teachers, trained in curriculum and delivery of core academic content. If schools believe that parents are a natural and neccesary extension of classroom instruction then schools must engage parents, equip and empower them with the tools and knowledge required for that role.

posted by: M. Palmieri on November 5, 2009  8:25am

The participants of the program all demonstrated a strong sense of commitment to their respective responsibilities as teachers and parents.  Their comments and interactions ,before, during and after the program,  represented a genuine concern and intense interest in learning more about “raising and teaching” children.  They recognized that all adults “teach” children and all share a mutual responsibility for their development.  Whether teacher, parent, grandparent, etc., we all acknowledged that education is a 24 hour process…it doesn’t start nor finish during the school day.  Perhaps, for me as facilitator, an indication of their dedication, was the discussion which continued AFTER the TV program ended.  All expressed an interest in continuing the “conversation”!

posted by: Cindy Thomas on November 5, 2009  1:38pm

I would like to express my appreciation for being able to participate in this “21st Century Conversations” TV program that dealt with parent teacher team-building in our public schools.  This was a GREAT program.  As a parent and a member of TOC it was really beneficial to be able to sit with other parents and teachers and talk about what we can all do to make education better for all children and for parents. 

There are many of us who did not learn what our children are learning now; therefore, we cannot always help them in the ways we want to.  Everyone benefits when the parents are willing, ready and able to learn so that they can really help their children.  That also means that the teachers and principals need to be ready to work with the parents.  There are some wonderful teachers and principals who are willing to do just that; there are also those who are not and they are standing in the way of progress for the children, the parents and the broader community. 

We parents at TOC want only what is best for our children; we are no different from any other parents; we want our children to succeed in school and in life. We do not want anything to stand in the way of our children getting a good education. Principals and teachers who close out the parents are preventing those children from getting the best education possible.  Mr. Palmieri, the facilitator, said education is a 24 hour process.  This means that parents must be able to help their children; this means partnering with the teachers.  How can we partner with the schools if we have no access to the our children’s teachers and classrooms?

Now for the title of this article about the parents learning new math from the teachers; that is not exactly what happened in this program.  I personally know some of the teachers that were there and some of the other parents. We all agree that this was a learning experience for all of us.  The teachers also learned from the parents, and we all agree that the system should be educating the students.  To do that more effectively there needs to be a 100% open door policy at all the schools.

Also we all agree that we should have more of these shows where we can fully discuss the education system in detail and give specific names and locations where there are problems. I as a parent and TOC member think that the show went great. I got reports from students and other teachers that watched it and look forward to other upcomming shows on topics of the same nature and beyond. I will be glad to help in anyway I can to make future programs possible. 

There are alot of parents and teachers out there that need to know what’s really going on and what they can do to get the best education possible for not only their children but for all children of all race, color, gender, disabled or not. Thanks again to OneWorld Progressive Institute, Inc. and everyone who helped to make this program possible.  We are happy that we were there.

Sincerely, Cindy

A parent and TOC member.

posted by: An Involved Parent on November 6, 2009  11:47pm

As a parent, I learned many things from this TV program last Thursday, but the most important was that the issues from city to city are the same, and we all need open communication. I feel there is a need to bridge the gap between all teachers, principals, parents and students, and to do that we need to have more shows such as yours.  We need to include some students from different schools along with everyone.

The other night I attended a meeting of parent leaders at Cross High school and talked to many about increasing parent involvement; I always felt that the personal way is the only way to get parents more involved from school to school. There are many caring parents in our school system; sometimes they do not know what they can do to help their children and to help the school.

We as people have to start getting together more often and sharing our thoughts and many ideas and learning from each other. I plan to try to have as many forums as I can in my community and inviting many others to join me.  I am already getting e-mails from many other parents that I met last night. I thank you, Ms. Shani and your TV show 21st Century as it has helped me to learn ways to try to bridge the existing gap. We after all have the same goal which is that every child in the city is educated to insure their success in the future.

posted by: Claudette on November 7, 2009  7:18pm

Education is the building block of our society.  Gone are the days when all a person needed was to be able to read and write simple sentences and he or she could get a fairly good paying job.  Our young people today have to compete with people from all over the world for jobs.  Besides, technology dictate that they have various levels of skills to function in any job at all.  This program about parents and teachers team-building for the benefit of students is critically important.  Again, this organization called OneWorld Progressive Institute is using public access TV to do some remarkable things.  The programs they present to the community are extremely beneficial.  Many larger community organizations should learn from OneWorld, and should visit the website to see what they are doing.
It saddened me to read about all the problems in New Haven public schools and the fights between the supt. and some of the parents.  If there is ever two groups who should be on the same side, it is parents and teachers; the supt, should be leading the way.  What was so wonderful about this TV program is that they had teachers and parents talking together and understanding each other.  Many teachers are themselves parents, so they know some of the challenges they face with their own kids.  However, because they are in a better financial position they may not understand some of the reasons that some parents are not in the schools.  Some parents work two and three jobs to make ends meet.
There needs to be more education for teachers about some of the problems parents (especially these days) face and how by understanding these problems,  they the teachers can better help the children of these parents.  How a teacher talks to a parent can make all the difference in the world to that parent.  How the parent talks about the teacher at home also makes a big difference in how the child behaves in school; that is why these types of programs are so important.  Doing it on TV is great because the programs can be seen in many different places and people can get copies and talk about the issues shown.
Lastly, I agree with Cindy Thomas that OneWorld (and using a retired principal like Mr. Palmieri) needs to do more such programs, but allow more time for parents and teachers to problem-solve around some of the difficult issues.  The supt. should sit on the sidelines and learn from those in the trenches.  This is really living the OneWorld motto, lighting candles rather than cursing the darkness.  I thank everyone involved in doing these programs.

posted by: parent on November 9, 2009  10:20pm

I am glad to see such programs on 21st century. I have forwarded this article to my school’s principal and PTO president in hopes that we can present something along these lines in our school. Being an involved parent makes a huge difference in your child’s education. I am glad to see the program will again air on Tuesday 11-10-09

posted by: Sherry Mitchell on November 10, 2009  8:56pm

I was honored to be on the show with such a wonderful group of parents and teachers speaking about a truly important topic.  I applaud 21st Century Conversations for bringing forth a topic so crucial to the success of our students and children.

posted by: Esther on November 11, 2009  1:55am

Kimberlee Law, the teacher from Bpt. hits the nail on the head. She said ” I’d have these parents doing these great things at home that were totally undoing what I’d taught in class. “I had this parent come in and we were talking, and then all of a sudden it turned into this lesson. We had parents waiting in the hallway saying,‘Oh, I want to sit in on that because I don’t know how to do it, either.’” This is a wonderful story; there are thousands of parents who would like to have this opportunity; for a variety of reasons they do not often have it.

If there were more teachers who were as welcoming to parents who want to learn how to help their children, more learning would be taking place in our classrooms.  Ms. Law said: “I realized, even though I’m sending home these wonderful little sheets that sort of explain it, I really needed to reach out more to my parents so they could start feeling empowered to at least try to help their children with the work.”  I hope that many teachers read this and take a page from Ms. Law. 

Mr. Palmieri started by saying, “Not all of our parents have been successful in school.” That is very true; we also need to remember that many children are being raised by grandparents, foster parents and other relatives. The materials used in schools today and the methods of teaching are quite different from that used when many of today’s parents and grandparents were in school. However,  there are things teachers can do to help parents and guardians support their children’s education. 

For parents with computers, there is there are on-line tutoring programs specifically for parents.  There is also: The Helping Your Child series of publications for parents to help their children develop new skills and knowledge. Topics include homework. http://www.ed.gov/parents/academic/help/hyc.html 

Some libraries have tutoring programs and some schools have special programs. There are also collaborative efforts among parents in some communities. The bottomline is district administrators should see themselves as having a vested interest in building cooperative teacher and parent teams. No school reform will be as successful as it could be without the active involvement of parents capable of working constructively and supportively with the schools. The teachers’ will have more cooperative and engaged students if they can team up with parents. It goes back to what Ms. Law did in her class; she welcomed parents in and included them in her lesson.  Now she is more likely to get completed homework assigments because those parents can now help or at least encouraged their children with homework.

What OneWorld Progressive Institute did on its “21st Century Conversations TV program on Oct. 29, can be replicated in schools, churches and communities across CT.  It needs to be. Ms. Law’s example can be replicated.

posted by: Good Student on November 13, 2009  12:56am

If parents want to keep kids on top of the books, between the 4th & 8th grades parents really need to get hooked up with their kids teachers. Depending on who your kids hang with they will get their work done or not.  If your kids hang with losers they don’t get their work done.  When kids know that their parents know the teachers by name and can stop by, they’re less likely to slack off, because they don’t know when mom or dad is gonna drop buy school just to check, or the teachers are gonna call to say homework has not been turned in. Kids whose parents never come to school never know until marking period if the kids are working or not.  These are the kids who fall behind. It’s on the parents. Some teachers are caring, so they will call the parents; bottomline tho—parents who want their kids to be successful have to reach out to the teachers.

posted by: C. Duncan on November 15, 2009  9:26pm

I just saw this article and want to tell you that there are some great teachers and some great parents; there are also those on both sides who need improvement.  When a student has the bad luck of encountering both, that student has no chance of succeeding.  There should be a mandatory rule that says every parent or guardian must attend a parent teacher’s meeting before the first marking period every term. The rule should also require teachers to document efforts made to reach parents. 

Unfortunately, for many kids once they turn 18 they are on their own and neither parents nor teachers care too much about what happens.  Some parents just don’t know better; they have no education either, so they don’t know how important it is.  All the teachers know but many just cannot be bothered; they get their pay whether their students do well or not.  Every parent and teacher should read this article and see this “21st Century Conversations” TV program.

posted by: A Hardworking Teacher on November 16, 2009  12:25am

Being a teacher is challenging work more so today than ever. We are often least effective with those children who need us the most.  Why?  Because they are usually the students who are the least prepared to learn.  Not always, but often they are also the ones coming from homes where parents—for a variety of reasons—do not pay close attention to homework assignments or monitor other learning-related activities.  School districts should focus more on building parent teacher collaboratives and less on test scores.  If there are good parent teacher collaboration students’ grades will improve. 
Mr. Palmieri told the parents and teachers who were in the studio that education is a 24-hour process and parents are the first teachers; he is so right. Sadly, not all parents know that, and some of the things young children learn at home are very difficult to erase from their behaviors at school.  School districts should focus more on bringing parents into the schools on a regular basis so that good parents can work with less competent ones.  Presenting programs such as these is a wonderful way to use public access television.  Thank you.

posted by: shari on November 17, 2009  12:53am

Good parent teacher communication is essential for children’s success in school. Various research data and the lives of children whose parents have been actively involved in their education are proof that the more actively involved parents are in their children’s school life, the more the children excel. Parents and teachers working together provide children with a team of adults who are committed to their educational success. As parents and teachers, we need to find ways to support each other and as a result ensure the educational success of children.  As a teacher I feel fortified when a parent comes in to work with me to resolve an issue with a child. Children whose parents visit frequently are more cooperative in class
This program “21st Century Conversations” is exceptional in its ability to focus on issues that are critically important.  They have managed to identify the three most essential elements of a strong community:  health care literacy, education and civic engagment.  They also have a phenominal web site.  I encourage readers, TV viewers, parents and teachers to visit the OneWorld website and look around; you will learn a great deal. 
It is wonderful that this on-line journal provides this information to the Internet community.  Parents and teachers around the country can learn from what is happening in New Haven, CT.
Shari-Ann

“

posted by: Joevania Alexandre on November 17, 2009  4:58pm

One of the most important aspects of teaching has been relationship building with not only my students but their parents as well.  It’s essential to be in constant communication, not just when a child misbehaves or is missing an assignment. I try to let parents know when they’re child is doing well, has made improvements or even when their scholar has made a decision that demonstrates good character.  Once I’ve done this parents are much more receptive when my feedback isn’t as positive. They are also less hesitant to contact me when they have a simple question or even when their child needs help with homework.

posted by: Yolette Bryant on November 17, 2009  10:20pm

The importance and benefits to children of parent teacher collaboration cannot be over emphasized; in fact, it is one of the pillars of academic success for all children, but particularly for children who are academically challenged, and those whose parents are not themselves educationally successful. 

As have been stated before education is a 24-hour process, so clearly teachers alone cannot accomplish that.  Parents must be very involved to continue with school assignments, but also to seize on all the teachable moments that occur outside of school.  Parents can update the teachers on what is happening in children’s lives at home so that teachers can recognize and deal with behaviors that might otherwise negatively affect learning. This is true whether the child is an academic star or someone with learning disabilities.  Both parent and teachers need to have the same expectations of students.

The flow of honest and respectful communication between parents and teachers will ultimately dictate how successful a child is from Pre-K to graduation from high school. The 21st Century Conversations (TV program) presented here by OneWorld Progressive Institute is an essential and important contribution to the entire community.  Sunday on Meet The Press top educators and political leaders were mentioning some of the same issues addressed by this volunteer organization.  Mr. Palmieri, a retired school principal, is to be commended for using his retirement time in this important and contributive way.

In most areas of the country everyone is recognizing the importance of parent and teachers working together for the educational benefit of all children.  As an educator and as a parent I have always considered this to be essential. These parents and teachers who participated in this program seemed to have been demonstrating how it is to be done. Please make DVD copies of this program available on the OneWorld web store.  Thanks to everyone involved in this remarkable production and to this web site for its coverage. The OneWorld website also has excellent information in its education section.

posted by: L Rao on November 18, 2009  10:54am

I commend Mr. Palmieri for promoting collaboration between parents & teachers in order to meet the needs of students.  Parents so often wish to assist their children with homework but feel insufficiently prepared because of the immense changes in testing and academic guidelines.  Thank you for opening the communication channels & discussion so that we can empower children with confidence & allow them to succeed in meeting the challenges and requirements of a classroom-based education.

posted by: Julie on November 21, 2009  1:52pm

Students benefit when parents and teachers talk to each other. Even if sometimes we would prefer not to have our parents at school during the day, the fact is that if the teachers know your parents and have a good relationship with them, they the teachers are more likely to extend themselves for your benefit. If you are not a student who gets into trouble, having your parents and teachers working together is totally cool.

posted by: Evan on November 21, 2009  2:04pm

Some parents don’t go to their child’s school unless there is a function or something because they don’t see a need to.  Most parents only get called when their kids are in trouble, so they only associate going into the school with having problems.  The teacher that talks about calling parents when kids do nice thing is totally right.  Parents love hearing good news about their kids, so when there is a problem it is not too bad to take. Parents picking up report cards is a GREAT idea; it will encourage more kids to work harder.  Some parents have no clue what grades their kids are getting until they find out that the kids have to do make-up sessions.  That is a real drag for everyone.  Some parents are too busy to keep up with school; the school need to invite them to come in.

posted by: Carol on November 21, 2009  4:12pm

More parents NEED to accept more responsibility.
Too many parents are expecting the schools to parent their children; this is particularly true in places such as New Haven.  In schools the teachers now have to teach the children everything that we used to learn at home.  Some of the parents are barely more than children themselves; they are not prepared to nor know how to be parents.  One of the good things about parents and teachers working together is that the more mature teachers who are themselves parents can teach some of these parents how to be involved and caring parents.  We need to bear in mind that there are just so many hours in the school day.  Maybe having parenting classes throughout the school district might be best.

All of these things cost money, so we need to figure out who will pay for these classes. Maybe OneWorld and Mr. Palmieri can design a series of programs in the spring where they can work with a few selected schools to develop classes to teach parents how to become involved parents in ways that are positive for the schools, the students and the parents.  It is apalling to learn that in a school with over 400 students only 15 parents showed up for a PTO meeting.  When there is a problem with their children not doing well those who did not show up will be the first to complain. There needs to be more accountability on the part of parents.

posted by: Jabari on November 22, 2009  2:41pm

Caring and compassionate citizens agree that quality education for all children is a national priority. The program that 21st Century Conversations/OneWorld Progressive Institute produced is emblematic of the parent, teacher, community collaboration that is required to achieve this goal.
I agree that more needs to be done to encourage parents to take a more active role. Teachers and administrators can contribute by maintaining an environment that is welcoming to parents and that is condusive to mutually beneficial sharing.  Some parents may not be able to help with homework and they may not be able to spend time with the teachers learning how to teach, however, there are other ways that parents can be involved that are equally important and essential (maybe this is the next program in the series).
The success of this TV program and the diaglogue that it has generated are strong indicators that the community will benefit from more programing of this type.  This is a strong vote of confidence for 21st Century Conversations to continue doing the good work that it has done for so many years.
I commend Linda Tuhus and the NHI for covering this story and for contributing to the community conversation.

posted by: Kimberlee Oulaw on November 23, 2009  6:04pm

I had an awesome experience meeting and conversing with such involved and concerned parents.  I’m always taken aback at how much effort parents are willing to contribute to their children’s success. As a teacher, I put in hours that can never be calculated or tallied.  However, it’s when I have meaningful interactions with parents that I am able to appreciate the joint efforts that need to be pooled and built upon to ensure the success of our students.

posted by: A Parent on November 24, 2009  10:46pm

Some time ago OneWorld presented programs on Dyslexia and on Autism Spectrum Disorder. The information provided in the articles on these programs were very helpful, and would be more so if some of the articles were a little more extensive in terms of providing some more follow up information especially about addressing problems. 

This article about parents and teachers working together is important.  One of the things not mentioned is when parents are dealing with children who have various challenges.  The fact that a child is not in special education does not mean there are not significant challenges to parents and teachers. Many teachers are not equipped to deal with some of the problems children have. Some parents of these children cannot be at school in the evenings because they have others at home they cannot leave and cannot take with them.  The stress on these parents are real; this is where community organizations can help.  In our part of the country there are community programs.  Schools need to partner with some of these types of agencies that can help these parents to cope.

There are no easy answers for schools or for parents;  the answer might be in cooperative efforts at every level.  Schools cannot provide everything that children need without our taxes going sky high, and parents need a lot of help.  Some of us are better equipped than others; most of us simply do the best we can, but that is not always good enough. When parents and teachers communicate regularly, it helps teachers to understand how to better cope with these children.  From Pre-K-12 more attention needs to be placed on educating parents so that they can better help their children and teachers.

posted by: Tuned In Parent/Teacher on November 28, 2009  12:00am

The main problems in public schools today is the lack of effective communication and the fact that teachers are intimidated by their central office.  In some districts good teachers cannot do what they want to do because they will get punished by their directors.  Even some principals cannot do what they want to do; this is particularly true in highly political districts.  Parents simply must commit to what is best for their children and pray that they get committed and effective teachers they can work with; it is the only way for students to succeed.  More parents need to become closely involved with their schools.

posted by: Lisette Bernier-McGowan on December 9, 2009  6:54pm

Once again, OneWorld Institute, Inc, - producer of 21st Century Conversations - has taken proactive steps to contribute to a dialogue that builds alliances for children’s school success. This most recent program, dedicated to building partnerships and collaborative teams among parents and teachers, is indicative of the Organizations’ perceptive insight about what is most critically needed in order to create the conditions necessary for successful learning for both children and adults. OneWorld recognizes that improving the way parents and educators interact and come together to define and open a path that leads to effective collaboration must be considered just as pivotal to school success as all other reform efforts.  Although it is well known that family involvement increases achievement, it is also well understood that cultural diversity, differences in values, work-place and family-life demands, as well as discrepancies in expectations have often made collaboration extremely difficult. Yet, we also know that good schools are known for transforming difficulties and barriers into opportunities for creative action. Several of these creative fresh insights were revealed by the comments and anecdotes of parents and teachers during the televised Program, as described by this article. Two main ideas artfully put forth by the program facilitator - retired school administrator Marc Palmieri - had the gentle power of setting the mood by reminding the panel that they (parents and educators alike) are dual partners, mutually responsible and equally entrusted to the most important task of preparing the Nation’s children for successful and productive adult lives. Opening the gates to useful ideas and practical suggestions were these two thoughts: “the parent is the first teacher”, and “education occurs both in the classroom and beyond the classroom walls”. These statements placed parents in their legitimate role as key members of the school community, whose expectations, skills,  strengths and efforts are essential to their children’s school success.

Judging by the response of the program panelists, the CTV audience and the readers of the New Haven Independent, it is evident that there is a general consensus regarding the critical importance of effective home-school partnerships. Their enthusiasm and motivation to partipate in this conversation should serve as impetus to expand the dialogue to include more programs and forums relevant to this topic.

Disseminating and replicating those practices that have been proven effective in reframing the culture of a successful school as a community of learners, with all stakeholders invested in providing mutual support to each other; enhancing learning at home, school and community, and making joint decisions to ensure the achievement and socio-emotional development of all children remains one of the most critical endeavors of home-community-school partnerships. It is important to celebrate and disperse the seeds of success throughout - from wherever they are found to wherever they are needed - so that not only a few but all schools can offer programs of excellence.

Thank you OneWorld Institute, Inc., moderator Marc Palmieri and producer N’Zinga Shani for your purposeful and deliberate efforts to encourage our communities to do the work necessary to help elevate all aspirations about home-school partnerships from mere concept to real practice.