Back to School Night

With school opening in a few weeks, Back to School Night or Fall Open House isn’t far behind.  Different school district’s schedule these events according to their own calendar, but Back to School Night usually happen during the first three weeks of the school year.  The event's goals are always the same: to have parents and teachers meet one another and to review classroom expectations.  Back to School Night often starts with a welcome from the principal and parent teacher association president.  Them parents move to their child’s classroom for a twenty to thirty minute teacher presentation.  In middle schools the procedure is somewhat different.  Parents may actually follow the student's schedule and move from room to room for short presentations.

Plan ahead and know exactly what you'll discuss and consider what handouts you'll share.  Pinterest has some interesting examples of open house materials.  Take some time to see what other teachers use.  While parents usually sits at the child’s desk,  you may want to ask the custodian for a few folding chairs for those folks who can't manage student-sized chair.  If children come with their parents, have them sit on the floor in the front of the room so parents can use the chairs and comfortably listen to your comments.  The evening’s agenda might look as follows.

-Introduce Yourself: Give an overview of your education and some information about who you are as a person.  Why did you choose to go into teaching as a profession and say a little bit about your what interests you in “real life”.  You don’t have to share that you’re a first year teacher, but if asked, say “yes”.  Mentions that you spent a year as an intern while here at Loyola.

-Give an Overview of the Year: Highlight some of the exciting curriculum you’ll be covering at your grade level and some of the special events or project you have planned.  This is difficult to do as a first year teacher because you’re still trying to figure that out yourself.  Talk to the other grade-level teachers to get an overview of the curriculum and the usual field trips taken at your grade level.  Instead of giving a synopsis of the whole year, you might choose to just cover your plans for September.  Don’t spend too much time talking about standardized assessments; you can share more about that at a later time.

-Share the Daily Schedule and Management Plan:  Parents want to know what days the kids will need to bring gym shoes and return library books.  A printed copy of the schedule is always appreciated.  Also, discuss your behavior management plan.  Send a copy of the plan home along with a sign-off sheet that indicates that the parent and child read the plan together. Be sure you get all copies returned as these copies may come in handy if parents or children later claim they didn't know your expectations.  Keep the discussion of classroom management positive and upbeat.  Emphasize that your goal is to help students learn internal controls so they can develop strong academic skills.

-Communication Expectations: Share the ways you’ll communicate with home. Introduce your intentions for a classroom newsletter or blog and give parents your school email address.  Let them know that you will return emails or phone calls in a timely manner, but most likely, not until the end of the school day.  Have them complete an email/phone sheet so you have their contact information.   While the school office has the same information, it’s very convenient to have it available in your grade book when you need to make a home contact.

There are common issues that always seem to come-up at Back to School Night sessions. Some parents think the event is a parent teacher conference and they want to talk to you about their child’s academic progress.  Let parents know that the evening is not for that purpose.  You may even want to post the date for parent teacher conferences on the board for reference.  If parents feels a need to meet with you before conferences, schedule an appointment for a later date.

Lastly, send home several announcements about Back To School Night.  The school's office will send out an announcement, but your invitation trumps anything that comes from the office.  After all, if you put the effort into preparation, you'll want the parents to attend.  Don’t forget to have a sign-in sheet so you'll remember which parents attended.  Send home printed materials to parents who wasn't there.

Tell me and I forget.  Teach me and I remember.  Involve me and I learn.

                                                                                                         Benjamin Franklin