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This blog is part of the professional learning book study of "Creating Welcoming Schools" by JoBeth Allen. We will use this blog to track and continue discussions about the readings, as well as to post some assignments completed outside of our meeting times.
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- Please post your questions for the author here!
- Dreams and Possibilities for YES
- Wrapping It Up
- For Monday, March 30
- Chapter 8: "Engaging Families"
- Chapter 7: "Creating Dialogue Throughout the Year"
- Remember no meeting today
- Chapter 4-6 Jigsaw
- Chapter 3: Learning With and From Families
- Chapter 2: Cultural Memoirs
- Using the Past to Understand the Present
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- Making Up for Lost Time (Mar 2)
- Welcome!
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March
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Delgado-Gaitan discussed employing Latino personnel to create a more welcoming environment for Hispanic newcomers. In an ideal world this is a perfect solution...this coupled with employing various nationalities to represent all diversities in the school. Unfortunately, with funding cuts and personnel limitations, this is not a do-able situation. Hiring "smart" could be though. Hiring staff members that are bilingual or multilingual is a start. We can also hire people that have welcoming personalities who do not show prejudice; people who are willing to try harder to communicate through diversity. Utilizing technology is yet another way to bridge the communication barrier. The "translating phones" are wonderful tools to reach non-english speakers. Being aware of our county's resources, people at the county office, translators, etc., is another way to help create a welcoming environment and building trust.
ReplyDeleteGreeting them with a smile on your face is the first step. Body language is a very powerful tool in making people feel accepted or rejected. It is also important to know about all of the resources that are avaliable to the school, and make use of them. With funding issues we may be forced to think outside of the box, and look for other ways to communicate with the families.
ReplyDeleteWe need to greet all families the say way- with a hello and a smile. Sometimes it can be very hard when the parents and/or the child doesn't speak English. Two years ago, I had a child who came to me speaking no English. So we would smile a lot, use picture cards, get other co-workers in the building to help me learn phrases to say, write notes to the mom, etc... Finally, she begin to pick up the lnaguage and so did the mom (she signed for English classes). I think with funding- it would be hard to have a paid person. It would almost need to be parent volunteers.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad we have the bilingual phone system- that has been very helpful with talking parents.
I think it is important to have employees that can speck the language of our students and their parents. If unable to do that have a source we can use like our phone line one to help us communicate with their families. Families feel more at home if they feel we understand them and their children. With an enviroment they trust we can help grow their children academically.
ReplyDeleteI also have to agree with the comments above. It is so important for our families to feel welcome when they enter into the schools. This can be a very scary feeling for children and parents walking into a situation where they feel like they have no control because of a language barrier. By having employees who speak the languages we can avoid some of the the misunderstandings and fear that come along with these families. With an enviroment that offers different solutions such as bilingual teachers, bilingual phone system, etc. they (our parents and children) will feel more comfortable in our school settings.
ReplyDeleteWe need to greet everyone the way that we want to be treated or the way we want everyone to teach our children. The harder you work the more you get out of it. If it doesn't work try something new. It is all trial and error with every student and parent.
ReplyDeleteIt would be a wonderful life if we had all the funding we needed to accomplish the things we need. To have someone at each school have it's own translater. But with all the money cuts and paying for things that Barrow County Schools don't need it wasting not only teacher's, families amd taxpayers money.
As we discussed in 'class' last week, having person at the school or in every class room as a
ReplyDeletevolunteer would really go along way in helping make language a non-issue. When all parents are made to feel that have something to contribute, and are wanted and needed at the school, that will translate into each parent feeling as if they are truely a partner in their chids education.
I believe our school greets children and adults with a welcoming spirit. I don't know whether everyone feels equally accepted, but we certainly try. However, it is sometimes impossible to completely communicate where there are language differences. It would be helpful if we had someone readily available to bridge the gab. I have noticed on thing that our staff does really well. WE SMILE !!!!!! Tena Miller/Yargo
ReplyDeleteI feel that everyone should be treated the same. We are all here for one common goal: the boys and girls that walk our halls each day. There are many ways to help bridge the communication gap. the phone system is a great tool for us. The offers us some tools as well. People whether volunteers or staff or even students that can act as translators are so very important. These are real people that can relate to the parents with warmth, compassion and the ability to help. I do feel that our school does help as much as possible in these situations.
ReplyDeleteAngela Verdetto - Yargo
ReplyDeleteOur school can become a more welcoming place for diverse families by: employing or having volunteers to help communicate with families that speak different languages. If there is someone at the school who understands and can translate, parents would feel more welcome and willing to be more involved.
I think that encouraging parents to volunteer in the areas of need such as translating would be very beneficial for everyone. I believe it would help them to feel welcome to know we have made extra effort to communicate with them. Having employees who are bilingual as well as the phone lines are also very helpful. It would be great to have someone to translate for all the different languages or have letters and notices sent home in the language the parent reads but this is not necessarily practical without volunteers since school budgets do not allow for this.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the first impression is the most important in any situation, but is doubly so in education. Parents are entrusting the care of their children for 7+ hours a day to the school and they need to feel that we care for their child(ren) as much as they do.
ReplyDeleteI was not aware of all of the opportunities that the county had to offer - I hope that there is some way for the parents to find out about these opportunities, or even for us as staff to have this information available to offer it to parents who may be interested.
I liked Dione's comment about hiring smart. That would be a great asset if each school could hire at least two or more bilingual, or mulitilingual staff. That way, even if one is absent or cannot be pulled, you still have someone to help.