Two Indiana mothers devised a program called "Three for Me," which asks parents to volunteer only three hours per year in their child's school. Parents sign a pledge card and track their hours completed in the program. Through parental involvement, the gap of communication between parent and teacher narrows and gives guardians specific options for volunteering. Many parents feel like they may be in the way when advancing into the classroom, and this program alleviates that negative feeling by showing parents how much they are welcome and valued in schools.
Send parental surveys home with each student, allowing guardians to voice their opinions on different practices, disciplinary methods, classroom needs, student preferences and volunteer opportunities affecting their children. Many parents have ideas that may be effective when incorporated into the classroom. Parents know their children best and to offer the option to add information about each student as an individual will help teachers prepare lessons more adequately.
Invite parents to read a thematic story to the students in the class on a weekly basis. Schedule one parent per week on a specific day so the children can look forward to a class guest and supply the parent with a storybook in preparation for the public reading, so that he may become familiar with the story and may be able to field student questions about the plot, characters, vocabulary words or moral behind it.
For younger students studying occupations and community helpers, invite parents to attend school to deliver a presentation about her career choice, the duties she is responsible for and how her career is relevant to and helps the students in the class's age range. Nurses, substitute teachers, dentists and factory workers are just a few of the professions that can be presented to your class of students.