Celebrating Take Your Family to School Week
School leaders across the country are opening their doors to families this week in celebration of Take Your Family to School Week, an event held from February 18-22 to enhance family engagement in schools across the country. This year, with the help of PTA partners AXA Foundation and Safe Kids Worldwide, the event will focus on a critical issue for our nation’s youth: safety at home and at play. With a theme revolving around injury prevention, PTAs will bring community resources, schools and families together to learn about leading childhood injury risks and what families can do to prevent them.
(See also The Value of Volunteering)
The Benefits of Getting Involved:
Research shows that family involvement supports student success. Students with involved parents are more likely to earn higher grades and pass their classes, attend school regularly, have better social skills and go on to postsecondary education. Family engagement, parent-school partnerships and child safety make up a huge part of PTA’s mission, and the Together Counts™ program is proud to support the PTA in its effort to deepen family-school connections.
Quick Tips to Support Take Your Family to School Week and Become More Involved in your Child’s Education:
- Participate in Take Your Family to School Week events by soliciting volunteers or volunteer yourself and set up, run a station or help clean up during events
- Complete family activity lessons addressing this year’s theme: poisoning, playground, fire and bike safety
- Seek information on after-school learning opportunities, such as volunteering to oversee tutoring sessions
- Research enriching after-school activities for your child, or volunteer to lead a new activity at your child’s school
- Check on homework regularly and ask questions about your child’s work. Connect everyday experiences to what is being learned in school
Families play an important role in creating healthy and safe schools and homes. Some key problems exist both at home and at school that could benefit from a stronger family-school partnership around advocacy, mobilization and family education. Find out if your child’s school already participates in Take Your Family to School Week. Visit PTA.org/safetytoolkit for more resources to assist with planning and implementing an event in your community.
How do you plan to celebrate Take Your family to School Week? Share in the comments below!
Heather Parker, MS, CHES, wrote this blog post on behalf of the Together Counts™ program. Heather is the Health and Safety Manager at National PTA. PTA® comprises millions of families, students, teachers, administrators, and business and community leaders devoted to the educational success of children and the promotion of parent involvement in schools.