Thank you for volunteering as a Room Parent at Highland View Elementary School! Room Parents serve as one of the primary communication links between parents, teachers, and staff. As any Room Parent will tell you, this is a wonderful way to become more involved in your child’s educational experience. Your child will notice your involvement and the value your place in his/her school and education.
This manual was created to help clarify your responsibilities and help answer the questions you may have about being a Room Parent. It is full of important information. Please read it carefully and return to it as a reference tool.
Our most important role is to help create a sense of community within each class and the school. For added support there is a Room Parent Coordinator, ____________________.
The Highland View Room Parent Coordinator works with all the Room Parents, identifies and shares best practices and ideas, and works actively with other Highland View volunteers.
Please feel free to contact the Room Parent Coordinator at ___________________, if you have any questions or concerns. I look forward to sharing an exciting and fulfilling year Room Parenting with you!
This Room Parent Manual is divided into the following sections:
1. What am I getting into?
2. How can I support my classroom and classroom teacher?
3. Welcome Families
4. Other Ways to Facilitate Communication
5. Addressing Concerns
6. BONUS! All About Me Teacher Information Form
PART 1. WHAT AM I GETTING INTO?
Room Parent Requirements
1. Complete GSD volunteer paperwork online
2. Meet with the other Room Parents and Highland View staff at the start of the school year to discuss the role of Room Parent
3. Meet with the teacher at the beginning of the year and gather parent contact information
Suggested Room Parent Responsibilities
1. Meet with Co-Room Parent and divide responsibilities
2. Set up optional web tools to facilitate classroom communication i.e. Shutterfly/Yahoo/Picasa/Facebook
3. Send out an introductory letter or make introductory phone calls to returning parents
4. Contact classroom families new to Highland View
5. Plan an optional family get-together for the class
6. Send out class updates
7. Organize classroom volunteers as needed
8. Ask questions whenever you need to, and HAVE FUN!
Suggested Room Parent to Teacher Questions
1. Ask about class projects that could use assistance
2. Ask how class snacks are organized (if any.)
3. Ask how field trips are organized and how you can help
4. Ask the teacher if they have a wish list for the class.
5. Ask the teacher if they would like you to get volunteers to make or do projects.
6. Ask how the teacher will handle birthdays and celebrations.
7. Ask about any classroom events during the year and how you can assist them.
8. Have the teacher fill out the “All About Me” form at the end of this packet. You never know when it’ll come in handy!
9. Ask which holidays will be celebrated and how; i.e. volunteers needed, type of food etc…)
Examples:
Halloween/Fall Harvest
Thanksgiving
Winter Holiday Party
PJ Day
Valentine’s Day
Mother’s Day
Father’s Day
End of Year Party
PART 2. HOW CAN I SUPPORT MY CLASSROOM AND CLASSROOM TEACHER?
At the beginning of the year, please arrange a short meeting with your Co-Room Parent, if there is one, and your child’s teacher to introduce yourself and discuss how you might support them during the year. Ways that Room Parents can support their teachers and classroom can include:
1. Communicating with student families
Collect contact information and then share the class information with parents during the first week of school. Parents appreciate the information in order to help with mailing invitations, organizing play dates, and of course it also helps remember the names of all the parents in the class!
Contact the other parents and ask:
· The best way to communicate; i.e. email, note in child’s folder, phone call.
· Send out an introductory letter with your contact information in the child’s folder. (An example is provided below.)
· Send out emails as needed (consider using Shutterfly Share, a Google Group, or a Yahoo Group to send mass emails.)
· Attend as many PTO monthly meetings, Board meetings and school-wide meetings as possible and consider sending out a brief summary to class parents. This is greatly appreciated by many parents who cannot attend.
Sample Introduction Letter:
Dear Fellow Parents,
We’d like to take this opportunity to introduce ourselves as the Room Parent for (teacher’s name and class grade) class. We’re excited to spend a great year with you! The role of Room Parents is to increase communication and to serve as a connector and helper for the teachers, staff, PTO and other parents in the classroom. We will be sending you a list of contact information that you can use to keep in touch with other parents in the class. Please let us know if you have any questions or concerns.
I look forward to getting to know all of you!
2. Reminding parents about upcoming events.
Creating an online sign-up sheet, emailing, or even a few phone calls can make a real difference in helping parents attend school functions. For class parties or classroom events, Room Parents may email and ask parents to donate the supplies needed for the party too. The Room Parent Coordinator will also email important information during the year to forward to parents.
3. Provide an early awareness for upcoming events.
Beyond meeting at the beginning of the year with your teacher, a Room Parent may contact a teacher two or more weeks before a planned classroom event. While extra assistance may not be needed immediately, the extra planning time can help create a well-organized event. .
4. Field Trips
Some teachers may ask you to find chaperones for field trips while others take care of it themselves. Please check with the teacher to determine their preferred procedure.
5. Birthday Celebrations
Times and styles of birthday parties are at the discretion of the teacher. Some teachers prefer to have one joint monthly birthday party, other teachers allow any parent to have a party for their child and other teachers only allow the parent to send in a healthy treat for the class to celebrate without a party. Please check with your teacher and relay their preference to the class.
6. Holiday Celebrations
Room Parents should work with the teacher to help organize any parties or celebrations throughout the year. Your task may be as simple as finding parents to bring food, drink, paper goods, etc. or as involved as making items for a larger event. Check with your teacher at the start of the year to see what events will need planning, and how you can help. Some teachers will have specific ideas about what they need while others will ask for more input from parents.
7. Creating an End of the Year Gift for Your Teacher
This can be a wonderful way to show a teacher that you appreciate them. You can help coordinate something personal. Ideas can vary, but some examples are:
· Create a yearlong scrapbook of photos of the teacher with the students and pictures drawn by students about the teacher.
· Older students can write a letter or a poem.
· Each student could bring one flower to the teacher to make a bouquet.
· A gift group basket with something small from each child (a homemade jam, a beaded bracelet, a homemade card, favorite chocolate etc)
A Room Parent can organize this project or ask another parent to help.
8. Contact Families for Help When Needed.
The classroom relies on helpful families to volunteer to make items, provide snacks, donate needed supplies, volunteer for chaperoning field trips, help with class parties, etc. Solicit help
with a simple sign-up genius, on online sign-up sheet, and/or email to the families. Use whatever method is best for each parent.
9. Maintain Communication With Teachers Throughout the Year.
Check in with your teachers throughout the school year to see if needs are changing, or if there are other volunteer efforts needed.
10. Maintain Communication With Parents Throughout the Year
Don’t be afraid to delegate various tasks throughout the year. Although you have stepped up to be the Room Parent, other parents in your class can and should be helping you. Use sign-ups, emails and people skills in your favor to recruit help for things like making items, chaperoning, field trips, etc.
11. Plan Classroom Get-Togethers.
Arrange classroom all-family get-togethers, especially early in the year (and bring name tags). This is an excellent way to get to know the families in your class and create a close-knit community. Enlist the support of other parents, and don’t forget to invite the teachers! You might consider having one of the following:
Potluck Picnic or BBQ in a park after school or on the weekend
Coffee talk after drop-off
Class get-together to make teachers’ gifts
Potluck dinner at someone’s home
Class outing to the zoo, botanical gardens, or museum
Playgroups for school vacations or siblings playgroup
PART 3. WELCOME FAMILIES
Welcome returning families at the beginning of the school year.
One of the key roles of Room Parents is to help create the sense of community that makes children feel safe and families feel welcomed. It takes little effort, but it means so much!
Coordinate with your classroom teacher and organize a classroom contact list within the first few weeks of school. A class list with families’ phone numbers and emails is a good start to getting people in touch with one another. You may also want to start a classroom online community on a site like Google Groups, or Shutterfly Share.
With your Co-Room Parent send out an introductory letter or email and, if you can, try to call the families in your class within the first month to welcome them to the new classroom and to their new classroom. Let them know that they can contact you with questions or concerns. (It’ll be a lot easier to ask them to volunteer in the classroom later on, if you spend some time getting to know them now!)
An example of that phone conversation:
“This is_____. I am one of the room parents for (Teacher’s) class at Highland View. I just wanted to call and introduce myself. My son/daughter is _____. I’m pretty excited about this year. I’ll be sending you a list of contact information for the other parents in the class, is ___________ the right contact information for you? My email is __________, I look forward to keeping in touch this year!”
Welcome new families at the beginning of the year and throughout the year as they arrive.
Arriving at a new school can be intimidating, not just for new students, but for their parents. Parents finding themselves in a new community may even feel more isolated than their students since they won’t be spending eight hours a day with their new friends. That is why one of the most important responsibilities of a Room Parent is also to welcome new families to the school and to your classroom as they arrive.
When a new family joins your classroom, try to introduce yourself by several means:
Send a paper letter home in the student’s backpack
Send an email (if possible)
Call the family on the phone.
An example of this phone conversation could be:
“Hi! This is ______. I am ______’s parent in Mr./Mrs. ______’s class at Highland View. I just wanted to call and welcome you to our school. How has _____ liked Highland View so far? How about you? I know there’s a LOT to get used to at a new school, for the students and the parents. If you had any questions about Highland View, or what’s happening here, please give me a call. My number is __________. I might not know the answer, but I probably can point you in the direction of someone who does!”
After a week (or two at the most) re-contact the family to make sure they’re adjusting to Highland View and to help with any questions they may have discovered during their first week at school.
PART 4. OTHER WAYS TO FACILITATE COMMUNICATION
As a Room Parent, you are integral to communication in the school. When teachers need to get information to families, you are their first choice. If parents come to you with questions that you do not know, you can refer them to the appropriate school staff or school family. It is important to check the HV website regularly and direct parents to the website as well. It is a great resource for the parents.
In addition to the suggestions in earlier sections, you can:
· Introduce yourself in person
Let your classroom families know who you are. After your initial phone calls or new families at the beginning of the year, you could hang around for a few extra minutes at pick-up and drop-off to introduce yourself in person. This is more appropriate for the classes of K4 due to the drop off procedure.
· Use Google Groups or Yahoo Groups to communicate by email
Technology can be useful, but it is not for everyone. One option is to ask parent to sign up to use Google Groups or Yahoo Groups. Google Groups and Yahoo Groups allow emails to be sent and archived so parents can check class news and updates.
In Yahoo Groups, you can set up an automatic reminder to send out emails to parents of upcoming events like their turn for bringing snacks to class etc.
· Use Shutterfly Share, Facebook, or blogs to share class information
Parents and teachers can securely post and share pictures on these sites. It is very easy and quick. Shutterfly allows video sharing or the option to purchase prints of photos posted on the site. Shutterfly share sites offer the most features including sign-up sheets, calendar reminders and blog style entries.
PART 5. ADDRESSING CONCERNS
As the Room Parent, some parents may prefer to share school or classroom concerns with you. It is important to try not to get in the middle of any conflict. Instead encourage the parent to communicate first with the teacher and/or then the appropriate administration staff. Don’t be afraid to share feedback or concerns you are hearing from other parents with the Room Parent Coordinator and with the administration.
They will know how to address the concerns quickly and efficiently. Teachers greatly appreciate the effort and support of involved parents. You help foster the idea of parents and teachers working together to create the best possible school experience for the children.
BONUS: ALL ABOUT ME TEACHER INFORMATION FORM!
Have your classroom teacher fill this out at the beginning of the year. You might find the information handy during the next nine months!
Throughout the school year, families of HV students would like to do something special to show you how much we appreciate you. Please take a moment to fill in the information below so we can get to know you better. Please return to the school office by ______________.
Name
Birthday
I have a sweet tooth for
My favorite flowers are
You can catch me cheering for
My favorite restaurant is
My favorite place to spend my money is
My hobbies are
My favorite place to “get pampered” is
My favorite Saturday would be spent
I dream of traveling to
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