Parent Input

I have to admit that many times I awaken at night thinking of topics that I need to pontificate about on this blog. Nine times out of ten, the idea that I consider brilliant at 2:00 AM is forgotten by the time my alarm goes off. Much of the next day can be spent trying to recall what exactly it was that was such a brilliant idea. The reality is, often times what I end up writing about comes at the suggestion of a parent or teacher. These suggestions are often much better than anything I can come up with on my own.

Collaboration between all of us is crucial to the well-being of our school. The other evening at our Parent Meeting, when I stated that I truly did not know how to remedy the problem of absentee parents from these mandatory meetings, I was genuine in my quandary. I know I can charge people who fail to show up, or continue to rewards those who do in some way, but that does not solve the root of the problem. My hope is that maybe a parent has a suggestion or idea that might help the problem.

More to the point, however, is my hope that parents would show up to our meetings because they find value in them. I understand that some times schedules dictate where we can and cannot be, and putting aside my multiple miscues and wise cracks to cover them up, I want parents to leave a meeting with a new perspective on something at the school, a pressing question answered, or a thought provoked. I never want to fill a meeting with useless information just for the sake of having a meeting. I want it to have relevance.

One thing I have learned over my years of education is that my concerns for the school do not always mirror parents' concerns. We view the school from different perspectives often times. This is why I always invite parent input at our meetings. I want to ensure the meetings address what you the parents want to know.

Equally important, I want parents to attend a meeting because it is an important element of their child's education. I would love our parents to leave a meeting feeling like they may be in a position to better help their child succeed in school.

I hope parents continue to offer support, input and critiques of what is going on at Holy Angels. It is the best way we can be sure that our school stays focused on all the needs of all of our students.