Powerful Parenting Plays:

Enhancing Your Parenting Skills and

Elevating Your Child’s Achievement through

Parent Involvement

Presenter/Facilitator

Chris Martin, NFL Alumni

Developed by Phyllis Harris Phyllis Harris ©2008

WelcomeI’m Chris Martin

• I’m excited to be here today as parent involvement is an important facet of my life, and I know it is important to you too. I’m a retired professional football player. Today I want to discuss some important parent involvement strategies with you and share similarities of how juggling parenting responsibilities is a lot like surviving and winning on the football field. Please feel free to raise your hand if you have questions during the presentation. I am happy to explain points more clearly and provide even more football strategies in addition to those shown throughout the Power Point. First, I’d like the parents to introduce themselves by sharing your name and age of your child(ren).

• Now Let’s Get Started!

What is Parent Involvement?* Definitions from the audience?

* Chris’ definition/discussion

* Joyce Epstein’s Six Levels of Parent Involvement are:• 1. Parenting

• 2. Communication• 3. Volunteering• 4. Learning at Home• 5. Decision Making• 6. Collaborating with Community

Parent Involvement means teaming with your child’s school and teacher!

What do the Six Levels of Parent Involvement Mean?

• Parenting – help all parents establish home environments to support children as students

• In Football this is like:

• Ball Carrier – is in possession of the ball, like the parent is usually the legal guardian of the child, and most knowledgeable of the child’s developmental, social, emotional, and educational needs

• Coverage - to defend a position, player, or location on the field. Parents must ensure they support children by equipping them with proper nutrition, clothing, housing, parenting support, and other basic needs. Children need defensive coverage just like a team player in football.

• Guard – there are 2 guards on every play and they are lined up on either side of the offensive center. Children need to be represented by their 2 strongest advocates (mother and father), and sometimes other family members are responsible for the child. Schools need to be knowledgeable and respectful of the family system.

• Head Coach – is responsible for all aspects of the team (child’s education plan, curriculum and activities) and in charge of all other coaches (lead partner with child’s teacher and director of child’s education)

Communication – Design effective forms of school-to-home and home-to-school communication about school programs and child

progress

• In Football, there are similar examples of how communication is important in the game, just like in parenting:

• A Huddle is when 11 players on one team come together as a group to discuss an upcoming play. Parents can win when they have opportunity to network with one another to suggest school activities and help plan the school calendar. When schools effectively communicate with parents, families can better plan their attendance and are more apt to take on parent leadership roles.

• Check Off is changing a play at the line of scrimmage by calling a pre-determined set of signals when the quarterback doesn’t like the play being called. Schools and teachers should give parents opportunity discuss their ideas and feelings about curriculum and overall education plan. Parents feel respected when they have a chance to modify or change things that dissatisfy them. And if a change can’t be made, they feel better if the school explains policies, procedures, etc. in detail.

Volunteering – Recruit and organize parent help and support

• Let’s look at how important volunteering is to parenting as it in football:

• Be a Playmaker by volunteering in your child’s school. In football this is a player that has a history of making big plays. Schools need parents who are consistent, committed, and dedicated. Many sources of research evidence a strong connection between continuous parent involvement and enhanced child achievement

• Open Up Holes in football means pushing the opposition aside to make room in their defense for a ball carrier to run with the ball. Your child is the ball carrier. Open up holes (opportunities) for your child by educating yourself on important child assessments, tests, and other requirements. With this knowledge you can equip your child with the tools and support needed for success!

Learning at Home – provide information and ideas about how to help students at home with homework and other curriculum-

related activities, decisions, and planning

• Learning at Home relates to football in the following ways:

• Home Field Advantage – the benefits a team gets from playing games in it’s own stadium. Benefits are familiarity with the field and surroundings, fan support, and lack of required travel. The home is the #1 learning environment for the child, and the place where they can learn and relax. Parents should work with teachers to ensure they are involved in reinforcing learning at home. Make sure you are aware of homework activities and use community resources like the library and after school programs to offer your child further assistance.

• Place Kicker – the player who kicks the ball on kickoffs, extra points attempts, and field goal attempts. Reinforcing Learning at Home helps your child earn extra knowledge and a head start on their studies. Set up a learning environment at home to help your child become a Place Kicker!

Decision Making – Include parents in school decisions developing parent leaders and representatives

• One of the most important football techniques is the ability to make decisions, and most importantly that decisions are made by experts. We must remember that parents are the experts on their children. Here are some football examples:

• Signal Caller – player who calls the plays in the huddle or on the line of scrimmage. School should ensure parent representation on school leadership committees. Parent voices are strong advocates when developing school improvement plans.

• Ready List – short list of plays tailored specifically for an upcoming game. Parents should volunteer in decision making opportunities. This prompts commitment and motivation to parent involvement. Include parent decisions when planning and tailoring upcoming school activities.

Collaborating with Community – identify and integrate resources from the community to strengthen school programs, family

practices, and student learning and development

• In football without a strong sense of collaboration and support from the team, you cannot win. Here are some examples of how community collaboration affects parenting and performance on the football field:

• Man-to-Man Coverage – pass coverage in which every defensive back is assigned to a particular receiver. This football example supports the need for schools to align themselves with community agencies to bring in specific services for families such as housing information, transportation support, clothing and food assistance, etc.

• Balanced Line – a formation that consists of an equal number of linemen on either side of the center. This term is similar to the concept of ensuring community services are wrapped around each school. Schools should collaborate with businesses, organizations, etc. to bring in needed resources for families. Community services help support and protect families just as the linemen support the center in football.

Q & A

• We’ve discussed the Six Levels of Parent Involvement. Now let’s get examples from you – the parents. What are some ways you can become involved or more involved in your child’s school?

• Allow time to get responses from parents

How Will You Start?

• The examples are great. Reflecting back on the six levels of parent involvement, are there certain steps you need to take to get involved? If so, what are they?

• Examples:• Assess work schedules and determine if you can attend meetings• Do you have transportation to school meetings and activities?• Are you comfortable in the school environment?• Other examples?

• Helpful Handout – more strategies for parent involvement. Disseminate to the group

Thank You

• I appreciate you for giving me an opportunity to share important parent involvement information with you. I hope you had fun learning football terms, and I have a full glossary you can take home with you to further your knowledge of football terminology. I know that you want the best for your children. That’s why you are here. Remember, you are your child’s first and most important teacher. Partner with your child’s school and build a partnership for learning with the teacher and principal.

• Take the first step.

• This is the beginning of a winning team!