Parent Involvement at Its Best

Article Link: http://www.exchangepress.com/article/parent-involvement-at-its-best/5022039/

Parent Field Trips

Have you ever planned a Parent Field Trip? This is one of the best parent involvement strategies a school could implement! Each year at Gomez Heritage, we take three to four Parent Field Trips. Imagine a note coming home asking parents to sign up for a field trip themselves rather than their child. Parents are always excited when asked in the hallways or at our Principal Coffees to attend a field trip designed especially for them.

The first step a school should take is to ask the parents where they would like to go on a trip. During the first Principal’s Coffee in September, I ask parents for ideas. Adults talk with each other with enthusiasm while I ask that each table discuss some possibilities. Our parents have come up with ideas such as baseball games, the local pumpkin patch, or even a show at one of our local theaters. After our initial discussion, I discuss the field trips with our two Bilingual Liaisons; together we start planning. Here are some of the trips we have taken in recent years:

• Fontenelle Forest to hike
• The Rose and Orpheum Theaters for plays
• High Ropes Course for team building
• Henry ...