When planning events where parents are invited, we tend to keep our expectations reasonable because we recognize the reality of parenting and schooling. Parents have to work more than ever to provide for their children, often two and three jobs. We know that a parent's time is precious and so sometimes school visits have a lower priority. So, we expected a dozen or so parents at our Books and Bagels event. We held it in the morning before school and it required parents to come to school for a half hour and read with their kids.
To say that we were pleasantly surprised by the turnout would be an understatement. Our unofficial head count was 90. 90! We had a standing-room-only crowd in the media center. It was amazing! Our reading coach, Karen Pelletier (@karenpell13), had everything set up and ready to go by the time parents got there. The books were separated, the bagels were set out, and the chairs and tables were set up for maximum benefit. Other teachers who are always there to help (@karendent3rd, @Mrs_EHall) also pitched in to make the morning a huge success. Karen instructed the parents about effective ways to help their kids practice reading and then gave the parents time to read with their kids. It was beautiful.
As we milled around the media center, we heard all kinds of great conversations between kids and parents. We listened and smiled. This is exactly what we wanted to see.
With this huge success under our belts, we look forward to more wonderful morning sessions. We have the upcoming Dads Bring Your Kids to School Day, and Muffins and Math later this year. Our expectations will never again be "reasonable"; we are learning that our parents are very involved in their kids' education when given the opportunity. We will make sure they have those opportunities.
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