Family Engagement in the 21st century

Family engagement - a phrase most teachers have heard at least a hundred times (maybe a thousand).  It leads to a multitude of questions:

• How are you involving parents in the classroom? 
• How are you getting information to parents? 
• Can they access that information with ease and is it in a language they can understand? 
• How many parent volunteers do you have? 

The list just goes on and on.  As a fifth grade teacher, I know that many of the half sheet flyers and notes to parents I send don't always make it home.  They'll magically disappear somewhere between my classroom and the student's front door. Flyers and paper reminders are great tools, but I always found myself wondering, are they enough?  Am I really doing everything I can to reach out to every family? After some reflection, I decided that the honest answer was no.  Yes, I was already doing a lot-paper flyers, phone calls when it was warranted-but I was ignoring a wonderful tool that would open up so many possibilities!  

THE INTERNET- DUH! It hit me one night as I sat on my brother's couch.  Why not make a website... it wouldn't have to be anything over the top, I mean my families know I'm a teacher not a web designer- just enough to get information out that is easily accessible at any time!  The process was actually super easy and not too time consuming!  I am so happy with and proud of the results, and I wanted to share the details with all of you! 

First, my mode of creation!  I am definitely not an html expert so I needed a website creator that would have some great templates and was easy to maneuver.  I decided to go with Wix Website Editor.  They had SO many amazing templates and had great reviews when I did some research.  And, it is FREE!  (As teachers, we all love anything free!) I love the way their home site was set up with different templates being sorted into different categories.  I went to the community and education category and found a template I fell in love with! 

With my template chosen, a login created, and all the enthusiasm you could imagine, it was time to choose exactly what information to put into the site and give it the "Miss Chmura" flair.

My first step was setting up my main page and tool bar.  This will differ depending on the template you choose, but my tool bar had four headings so I made my four pages Home, About Me, Teaching Methods, and Contact/Donate.  What I also loved was that I could add pages under each "main category."  For example, under my Teaching Methods heading, I added a few pages so that my families could see all the different strategies and methods I use.  

The page is easy to operate and aesthetically pleasing!  I've got links to almost anything and everything you could imagine!  Under my Teaching Methods heading, I plan on adding a "What we're learning" section once the year starts so parents can see exactly what standards we're working on, what books we're working with, and even assisting YouTube videos I plan on making so they can assist with homework!  The possibilities are never ending!! 

On my home page, I have a brief introduction, a few pictures, a link to my classes (private) Facebook page, our daily schedule, upcoming events, and a full calendar (which is directly linked to my gmail calendar that I update with only school events).  The home page will serve for big reminders and immediate news I need to get out!  

I love the calendar feature because it helps parents plan accordingly to make sure they are at all the events we plan on offering!  I can even use the calendar to tell parents when I might be out of the classroom because of a professional development!  It's great!! 

The About Me page is pretty straightforward and won't change much throughout the year.  I put a brief introduction with some fun facts and pictures.  I also added a link to THIS BLOG so my families can read more about my passion in the classroom and get more details and how to's in regards to some of our projects.  I think it will be really cool for them to see some of the things I am doing beyond the classroom to share my experiences with the world.  

I broke up the Teaching Methods heading because we just use SO much in our school!  I wanted my families to have a heads up and at least some insight into what we do in the room.  I know structures like Daily 5 can be confusing for some parents since it is SO different from how our generation was taught, so I wanted them to have an extra resource.  I think it is extremely important to be as open and up front with the parents as possible!  I added a "Personal Motivation" page under this heading because I think it is important to get personal with families to build an authentic relationship with them.  This gives them a chance to get some insight into what fuels my passion.  

Finally, I added a Donate/Contact page because as teachers, we all know how important any and all donations are!  There is a link that goes directly to my DonorsChoose page where families can donate and I plan on adding a link to my PayPal so families can also donate that way.  I also mention that families can contact me if they don't feel comfortable making a monetary donation, but would like to donate resources.  I feel like this will be a great option for my families.  Teaching in a low income community, I don't expect many monetary donations, but our families love to give when they can.  This will be a great way to get pencils, paper, crayons, tissues, and all the odds and ends that make up a classroom.  However, if anyone visits my classroom (families or not), that donation option is open.  It's a great way to keep open the option of obtaining donations.  The contact form is pretty straight forward and will be a great way for families to reach out to me if they can't call in or catch me before or after school.  I have the form linked to an email specifically for my classroom and have those emails forwarded to my main account so I don't miss anything! 

I am SO happy with the FINAL PRODUCT.  Click that link if you'd like to see my website all tied together.  I am not the most technological person, but it still looks great and is easy to access!  I provided most of the information in both English and Spanish since Spanish is the language spoken at home for many of my students.  It makes the information easily accessible in another mode and it really wasn't too much work for me.  I spent a few hours (maybe 3 or 4) one evening and I know that was only because I was starting from scratch.  I predict spending an hour biweekly to update and add new information.  

I love the fact that I can link anything!  As of now I have linked this blog, our class's private Facebook page, my DonorsChoose page, and I'm not stopping there!  There are so many potential uses.  Here are a few ideas I have for this website for this year:

• Another form to schedule parent conferences
• Set up a mailing list for email/text reminders
• Providing pictures and more details on projects and assignments
• YouTube tutorials for families to better understand different concepts
• Updating events 
• More fluid communication for families and myself 

That's just a small list, I know there is SO much more!  What ideas can you think of?  Can you see yourself using a website?  I think this will be a great tool to ensure families have access to all of the information all of the time.  I know not all of my families have internet access, so I plan to continue the paper flyers and phone contact, but this is just another great tool in the family engagement cycle!  

With enthusiasm,      

Miss Chmura        

Hellos are in order!

Hi everyone!  When it comes to blogging about education, this is definitely my first time at the rodeo!  You're going to have to bear with me as I figure out all of the ins and outs.  I'm not sure how all of this works, but I'm going to do my best to make this relevant and worthwhile for any potential readers out there!

I started this blog for three reasons.  First, (not trying to toot my own horn) I think I have some pretty great ideas for classroom methods and I want to share them with anyone out there willing to listen.  I feel like I have some FABULOUS ideas for the coming school year and I want to use this as an interface to share them, as well as think them out as clearly as possible.  I am not suggesting that under any circumstances all of my ideas will be completely unique and never done before, but I do think that even the same idea can be done 100 times in 100 different ways--it all depends on the educator in the classroom.  

Second, I feel like many blogs by teachers out there aren't as descriptive as they can be--meaning, they give us the gist when it comes to great ideas, like flexible seating, but don't disclose all of the information in terms of organization, implementation, and pitfalls. There is always something missing to me; my goal is to be very clear on every step of the process in whatever I do.

Third, I want questions and suggestions! Why limit myself to one brain when I can have so many more questioning me or offering suggestions to help me take my ideas to the next level.

For my first post, I just want to introduce myself and give you some insight into where I teach and how I teach.  So, here goes!

Well, my name is Miss Chmura and this is my third year teaching.  I know I am by no means an expert in the field, but I do have a serious passion for the job and my children.  My first year teaching, I taught first grade.  From there, I moved up to fifth grade and found my place in fifth!  I love the content, the possibilities, and-of course-the students!  I teach at an elementary school in Las Vegas, Nevada.  I teach at a Title I school near the downtown area.  The community I teach in is amazing in SO many ways, and you'll get to see exactly how as time goes on through my posts.    

I like to push boundaries and stretch limits when I teach.  (I'm definitely more of an ask for forgiveness, not permission, person.)  I like to think of grandiose ideas when it comes to a topic and have my team, other teachers, and administration talk me through it to help take it from an outrageous, over the top idea into a reality.  My tool of choice in the classroom is novelty!  I love out of the box thinking and lots of songs, motion, and out of the ordinary teaching strategies.  Again, you'll probably see this as time goes on in my posts.

Well, I think that is all that is relevant for right now! If you have any questions, make sure to comment!  I can't wait to get posting and have some amazing collaboration happening among us all!