Taylor Connard

Education 650

Standard Activity 8.34C

Parent involvement is a huge concern at Clay County High School. Our students come

from low socioeconomic backgrounds and displaced households. It can be a challenge to contact

parents and have them want to participate. The survey that was conducted with parents

previously indicated that parents wanted to be more involved. In my opinion, our parent

involvement typically only centers around discipline or bad grades. This plan will propose new

ways to improve parents’ involvement and the general attitude of the school.

One of the ideas for parent involvement is to host an “art gallery” that parents can attend.

This gallery would hold more than just art, but student work that can be displayed. Each class

could have a booth set up that has the work displayed. Students could conduct mini presentations

at each booth to show what they are learning. Due to size and time, each grade could be held on a

certain day so that parents with multiple grade level children do not have to miss out on certain

booths. This would be a positive experience for staff, parents, and students.

Another improvement for parent involvement is to simply communicate more. At this

time, we call home for D/F reports and discipline issues. I propose that we create a weekly

newsletter to be sent to parents that contains updates from the school and classes. This newsletter

would contain upcoming events from the school, future dates that are important, and anything

important that a class is doing in the coming weeks. This newsletter would be posted to the

CCHS website or sent home for students that do not have internet.

Increasing parent involvement is a huge undertaking, but one that is important for the

success of Clay County High School. If our parents felt more connected with the school, we may
see increased student involvement and achievement. By having parents become involved with

more than just grades, we increase their positive outlook on the school and what is happening

there. A newsletter would give them important updates that keep them connected as well. These

changes are important to increase parent support and understanding of the school.