Involving Parents and Communities (Ch.9)

Abstract
This chapter, like many others, alludes to the importance of involving the community in the classroom and in the educational efforts of students. The beginning of the chapter explains that this type of involvement has immense efforts for students including higher grades, better attendance, fewer special education placements, better attitudes, higher graduation rates, and greater post-secondary education enrollments. As for the school, the benefits mentioned are improved teacher morale, more support from families, better school reputations with the community, and even high ratings of teachers by parents. All of these benefits encourage student success within the educational system. The chapter includes multiple suggestions for including community in the effort of the school and classrooms and ways to get around the difficulties that tend to arise in the beginning efforts of involving parents and families. Getting students involved in the community is also a large portion of this chapter, encouraging teachers to help the students really connect with the people involved in their community. These types of connections and involvements can further the students education immensely and help them make similar kinds of connections in the future on their own.

Reflection
A lot of the suggestions in this chapter were incredibly useful. I felt like a lot of it would be really helpful for a principal making these types of plans, or for teachers to plan together to put plans in place for large community involvement efforts. A lot of it felt like it would be too much for one teacher to handle, but could be easily implemented by the efforts of more than one or two teachers. I think the community involvement is such an important part of education. Students can learn so much by speaking to someone outside the classroom, or taking a course that helps them learn a lifelong skill or trade. Sometimes this type of thing is overlooked, and I think it never should be. Because students learn so differently, it is so important to have this type of program within the community incorporated into the curriculum to ensure the success of all students. The benefits of community involvement and successful implementation of parent involvement and support are truly endless.