A Reminder for Families As Kids Return to School
As summer comes to an end, and families begin crossing items off the back-to-school checklist, there are some additional things you can be doing to prepare for the school year that you won’t find on any itemized classroom list. As a partner of the Together Counts™ program, we are excited for the new school year, and encourage parents to actively engage with their kids in the classroom. Research shows that family engagement supports student success. Students with involved parents are more likely to:
- Earn higher grades and pass their classes
- Attend school regularly and have better social skills
- Go on to postsecondary education
Parents often are unaware of their right to be involved in the development, implementation and evaluation of their school’s practices and policies related to nutrition and physical activity. Strong family-school partnerships, where parents are engaged and invested in their children’s success, are not beneficial solely for academic and behavior reasons; they translate into strong health policies that are successfully implemented in schools, thus improving the schools’ overall wellness environment and improving student health and welfare in both the short-term and long-term.
PTA’s National Standards for Family-School Partnerships were developed with national experts and reflect the most recent research about how parents, schools and communities can work together to support student achievement. They include the following:
- Standard 1 – Welcoming All Families into the School Community. Families are active participants in the life of the school and feel welcomed, valued and connected to each other, to school staff and to what students are learning and doing in class.
- Standard 2 – Communicating Effectively. Families and school staff engage in regular, two-way, meaningful communication about student learning.
- Standard 3 – Supporting Student Success. Families and school staff continuously collaborate to support students’ learning and healthy development both at home and at school, and have regular opportunities to strengthen their knowledge and skills to do so effectively.
- Standard 4 – Speaking Up for Every Child. Families are empowered to be advocates for their own and other children, to ensure that students are treated fairly and have access to learning opportunities that will support their success.
- Standard 5 – Sharing Power. Families and school staff are equal partners in decisions that affect children and families and together inform, influence and create policies, practices and programs.
- Standard 6 – Collaborating with Community. Families and school staff collaborate with community members to connect students, families and staff to expanded learning opportunities, community services and civic participation.
So as your kids head back to school, ask yourself how your PTA or other parent group can create a family-school partnership to address the energy balance needs of your school this year. Follow the lead of many of our Healthy Lifestyles: Energy Balance 101 grantees (sponsored by the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation): Partner with your nutrition service team to welcome all families by holding a cooking competition, then add the winning recipe to your monthly menu; support student success by creating a school garden to use not only for fresh vegetables, but as an opportunity to teach kids about science and food sustainability; speak up for every child by starting a walking club before or after school that is available free of charge to all students and families; and, collaborate with your community by hosting a fun run fundraiser instead of a bake sale. You could also suggest implementation of the Energy Balance: Enrichment Zone Curriculum, and offer to teach a few lesson plans. But most importantly, stay engaged with your child every day. It really is the most important thing you can do to support their learning this year.
Visit the Improving Energy Balance page on pta.org or togethercounts.com for more ideas.
Heather Parker, MS, CHES is the Senior Manager for Health and Safety at National PTA, where she serves as in-house expert on child health and safety and develops new programs, materials and resources to support PTA’s health and safety efforts.
If you’d like to read more about ways you can to set your child up for success at school, take a look at these other articles from Together Counts!