This book will outline methods used to encourage parent participation in school events. Coach Collins has used this book as an outline and has found that many schools have attracted more parents to their events as a result.
Engaging Parents
By Lamar CollinsAuthorHouse
Copyright © 2010 Lamar Collins
All right reserved.ISBN: 978-1-4490-1709-5Contents
About Lamar (Coach) Collins......................viiChapter 1: What's the Goal?......................1Chapter 2: Marketing.............................11Chapter 3: Freebie's.............................15Chapter 4: Showtime..............................21Chapter 5: Funding the Event.....................25Chapter 6: The event.............................29Chapter 7: Next Event............................33Points to Remember...............................37APPENDIX A.......................................41After Thought....................................45
Chapter One
What's the Goal?
If your school or organization is like most, you've found that those you'd really like to reach, are the least likely to come to your event. Oftentimes, there is tremendous excitement about the effects that will follow your planned event. Unfortunately, this is usually followed up with a let down over the amount of parental/adult participants. Weeks and sometimes months spent preparing for an event, ensuring everything is in place is met with a response of 15 parents (if you're lucky). A location that could hold hundreds was used for only a handful of attendees. To make matters worse, the ones that came are the ones already on board, supporting the message. The group that you really set out to reach didn't even show up. We have not even considered the amount of money spent on pizza, chips, cookies, door prizes, etc. If this illustration describes your efforts, I've written this to help you increase the effectiveness of your outreach.
The goal of most events is to help the parents of the children struggling academically or behaviorally, through seminars and/or literature. While that is an honorable (and needed) goal, for the most part it's an ineffective approach if you want them to come. The words seminar and literature to some parents are a huge turn off. Think about it, you are saying your event is a parent training or a parent outreach. But some are hearing you say that they are unfit parents so come to this event so that we can help you understand what you are doing wrong. While some parents understand the importance of continually growing and getting new ideas to better serve their children; others look at your program as an insult- especially the at risk parents (I do not use this as a term of disrespect, but as a way to identify the parents of children that are most likely to engage in risky behavior), which is who you are really trying to reach. Also, realize that many of the parents that you want to reach (the at risk parents) do want to better serve their children; however, coming to your event is almost an admission that they are not good parents. Some of you may have even encountered opposition when you invited them to your event. If we want to reach them, it is important that we give them what they want, not what we want them to have (even though it is what they need). There is an old saying that you attract more flies with honey than with vinegar. In keeping with this analogy, I want to suggest that you attract more parents with fun than you do with a preachy message of what they are doing wrong, and why they need to listen to you because you have the answers. Oftentimes, when they see you, they take one look at you and say how in the world could this person help me with my child. And quite honestly, they are justified in their thinking. What makes you think that you can help them with their children, when you don't understand their culture (whether this is true or not, it is their perception, which makes it their reality)? Your view of what they need may be taken as an insult. So now the question becomes how do I help them, when they take my help as an insult? The answer is not as difficult as it may seem. Approach the issue a different way. Instead of primarily focusing on giving them what you want them to have (which is what they need), focus on giving them what they want. What do they want? I'm glad asked. Before I go on, let me again stress that fact that many parents really do want to be better parents, but they weren't parented good, and never received parenting training. Some are actually doing the best they can; they just don't know any better. There are even some that would like to come to your event, but after working 8-10 hours, coming home just to go back to work (cooking dinner, checking homework, household chores-you guys know what I'm talking about), they just can't seem to find the time or the energy to go to your event.
What do parents want?
Parents want their children to be happy, and this is what we must make our goal. Let's focus on developing a program that the children will want to come attend with their parents. To do this we spend the majority of the time on what they want and give a 10-15 minute sound bite of what they need. Let's go a little further, instead of saying that we are having a parent education night, say that we are having a family fun night. Let them know that on this night we will offer extra credit or homework passes (if your school allows it). Also let them know that we will be playing volleyball, dodge ball (students vs the teachers and parents) and board games for the adults and students that would rather not be active. It may sound a little careless to hold an event that we only allocate 1015 minutes to actual parent developing, but I can't stress how important this format is. Let me also suggest that the verbal presentation is only 10-15 minutes, but the actual "teaching" is going on all night. It is my firm belief that some things can't be taught, they must be caught. I developed this philosophy from a lecture I was in. The lecturer said that we must train children in the right way and I felt like the light bulb went on. You see, to teach is to tell, but to train is to show. When I teach a child, I talk about appropriate behavior. When I train a child, I model appropriate behavior. The family fun night is designed to model appropriate behavior to both the students and the parents. Take respect for example. Respect is something that is caught not taught. I can't teach you to be respectful. You learn respect when you see someone you admire acting respectful. In doing so, you learn to keep you cool, when you really feel like going off. Our kids are the same way. If appropriate behavior has rarely been modeled to them, it's too easy to display the negative behavior they've grown accustomed to. We must get them in a non-threatening environment and allow them to see us acting respectful. We are also showing the parents how to respect their children. Guys as I've traveled across Central Texas doing this, I've found it quite therapeutic. It's amazing what can happen in a short 1 1/2 meeting. I'm getting excited just thinking about it! Let's get back to the actual program.
By focusing on the "fun", you get the students, parents, and even some teachers' attention. Students nor parent want to come to hear how bad or good things are, but the same parents that couldn't get off of work and were just too tired to make it to school events will find themselves energized and off for this occasion. You now have parents attending that would have never attended your boring parent meeting (don't take it so personal).
A little more
The family fun night will give them the message you want them to have, it just won't give them the entire message in one setting. We will promote the...
