For the most part, the public school system has served our family well over the years, but I suspect that is mostly because we were very involved in what happened with our children's education, both in and out of school. Committing time and energy to the education process for our children has been a very worthwhile investment.
Why should a father make the time and commit the energy to involvement at school? Some dads I know take the approach that "I pay my taxes; I expect the schools for which I pay to educate my kids." While it is accurate that as a community, we all contribute our taxes to public education, we are ultimately responsible for our own children's education. The schools supplement our efforts. When understood in this way, we can see the need for our involvement at every level.
The National Coalition for Parental Involvement in Education states as a part of its mission:
The evidence is in: when schools and families work together to support learning, everyone benefits.
- Students do better in school and in life.
- Parents become empowered.
- Teacher morale improves.
- Schools get better.
- Communities grow stronger.
So, with these great advantages for being involved in your child's education, here are some ideas from fathers and educators about what dads can do to be productively involved at school.
Talk to your children about school. Take an active role in understanding what is going on at school. Find out what was covered every day and what homework is due and when tests are coming up. Talking about their day will help the kids remember what they learned as they "teach" you. And you will have a better idea about how to help them at home.
Attend school events and programs. Make time to go to back to school night, parent teacher conferences, performances and other school events. Getting to know the teachers and administrators at school, and just learning the layout of the school and grounds will help you feel and greater connection. And when you do have an issue with something going on at school, you will work with familiar people.
Join and support the parent-teacher organization. Just about every school has an organization like the PTA. Sometimes they are called PTO's (parent teacher organization) or PTSA (parent-teacher- student association). Sign up, pay your dues, and offer to serve. Most such organizations have various committees for fundraising, activities, teacher recognition, and school safety for which you can volunteer. While these committees have traditionally been staffed by moms, more and more dads are getting involved as well.
Be a member of the community council. If your local school has one, a community council can be a good place to get involved. This group is traditionally a little less involved in day-to-day projects at the school, but meets monthly and gives input to school administration about community issues. This is another good way to get involved in school issues and develop relationships with faculty and staff.
Volunteer. Make time occasionally to volunteer at school. If you work nearby, you can come on your lunch hour every week or two to help students read, do homework, grade papers and the like. Sometimes employers will adopt a school or give matching time for people who volunteer in a local school. Find out if your employer offers such a program. This is a good way to connect with others involved in your child's education and to see what really goes on at school.
Visit the Parent Resource Center. Many schools have parent resource centers with books, videos, and other information about parenting skills in general and education specifically. Knowing the contents of your local resource center will help you find more ways of being involved.
Consider a Charter School. In more and more communities, charter schools are being embraced as an alternative to traditional public education. In a traditional school district, the principal is selected and faculty are assigned to a school by the schools superintendent who is accountable to an elected school board. In a charter school, the principal and often the faculty are chosen by a board of parents and are accountable to them. As a result, the school and its mission are largely the result of parent involvement, and the administration and faculty are much more responsive to parent concerns.
Whatever approach you take, it is clear that students perform better and schools are more responsive when parents are involved. Fathers can play an active role in their child's education, and that activity and involvement brings benefits to students, parents, schools and the community.
