Letting Parents in on the Secret of School
By Peter DeWitt on February 22, 2015 7:40 AM

Let's get two of the most common obstacles out of the way first.

Some parents don't want to engage - Perhaps they had a tough school experience when they were growing up. Maybe, they feel intimidated that we engage in educational talk and they don't always know the acronyms. What if we tried just one more conversation? What if we channeled Covey and tried to understand a little bit more?

Some treat us like childcare - This absolutely happens but perhaps they are just recycling the same roll they lived with their own parents. Maybe they don't see the importance of education, or they don't show it, because they lost hope along the way.

School staff have always had an interesting relationship with parents. We can't love all parents, right? BUT, there have been times when school teachers and leaders seem to hold up one hand inviting parents into the school for open house, parent-teacher conferences, concerts and PTA nights, but hold the other hand up when a parent has a difficult topic they would like to have a conversation about.

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