Research makes clear what teachers already know: when families are more involved in their child’s education, learning outcomes improve. And most parents are onboard with the idea. A survey by the nonprofit Be a Learning Hero found that “about 85% of parents overall felt [that they could make a difference in] their child’s learning and academic progress.”Now, thanks to a new collaboration with the Carnegie Corporation, we’re excited to help you bring your most creative ideas for family engagement events to life. Starting this week, when you create a qualifying project request to run an event that helps involve families in student learning, all donations will be doubled. Existing projects can also qualify if they meet the criteria.This match also has a little something extra. Once your project is fully funded, you’ll receive an email with an additional opportunity to empower those families to get even more involved in classroom life by earning a DonorsChoose.org gift card.
Ideas from Colleagues to Get You Started
DonorsChoose.org teachers have already put these ideas into practice. Here are three ideas to inspire your own family engagement project:
- Mrs. Bernatche held a series of “Family Fun” nights to show the families of her five-year-old students how to “generate a love of literacy and mathematics both within and outside of school.”
- Ms. Crenshaw strengthened her classroom’s family connection through a series of events aimed at getting students and parents to think together about “climbing the mountain to college.”
- Ms. Stark decided to give her parent teacher conferences an artistic twist. She set up kits of materials for families to take home, and worked with the parents to teach them how to use the supplies with their children.
Have a creative idea to engage families in the classroom? Share it with fellow teachers in the comments below!
