International Falls parent involvement committee starts

“Parents and school staff both saw a need to improve relationships and communication between home and the school, and to support school activities,” said Jenn Windels, elementary school parent and group member. “Right now, the committee is still in its infancy, and being a parent volunteer organization in nature, its action plan will be developed based on what needs arise and whether we have volunteers to take action.”

Terry Mason, parent and West End Elementary School Title 1 teacher, said while the group is “gathering what our big picture purpose is going to be,” smaller efforts include easing the teachers’ workload by having parents volunteer in classrooms.

“There’s always a need to heighten parent awareness of what goes on in the classroom and day-to-day behavior,” Mason said. “The more the parents know the routine at school, and the more the teachers are aware of the home environment, the better the outcome in learning.”

Elementary principal Jerry Hilfer brought the idea of a parent involvement committee to Windels and Mason in December. The group began meeting in February and have continued meeting every two weeks, Windels said. About 10 to 12 parents, teachers, paraprofessionals and school administration participate in each meeting.

“Parents wanted to get involved in lending their positive support, letting people know they care about the school without necessarily sounding negative,” Hilfer explained. “They want to help create a positive environment in school, because there’s so much divisiveness and negativity sometimes.”

The group will also help the schools communicate changes that are taking place in curriculums and new initiatives, Hilfer said.

“We’re going to keep expanding our tent and inviting more folks; getting more people involved,” Hilfer said. “We’re waiting for leadership to develop. Our focus isn’t clear yet — we need to determine what is it that we want to do, and what is it that we can do.”

A parent committee a few years ago formed to raise $100,000 for the new elementary playground. Since then, the group has disbanded.

“We were just wiped out by the time we were done,” Hilfer said. “So now we thought we’d start again to help create a more positive school atmosphere. People can be negative about the school, and we want to overcome that, if we can.”

The entire group has about 20 to 25 different members, although they don’t all come to the meetings, Hilfer said. The reason the group began at the elementary and not high school level is partly because of the difference in structure.

“I think parents get involved in the high school in terms of booster clubs, knowledge bowl and other extracurriculars,” Hilfer said. “We don’t have that here — we’re not organized that way.”

Windels added that the committee can serve as an organized volunteer network.

“We have so many talented and available community members and parents who understand that schools face many challenges on several fronts,” Windels said. “If you look at elementary schools that are succeeding and are positive environments for learning, I believe you’ll also find a strong parent and school connection.”

Parents can help not only by volunteering regularly in the classroom, but also by preparing class projects at home; helping out with field trips and school fundraisers; and providing school supplies.

“Studies show that when parents are more involved in school activities and support their child’s educational experience, test scores rise and bullying is less of a problem,” Windels said.

Anti-bullying

The first program since the group’s inception is an anti-bullying education effort providing two sessions. The presentations will include topics such as understanding the difference between conflict and bullying, understanding the district’s bullying policies and learning how to cope with a child who is being bullied or a child who is bullying others.

The first part of the session will take place on April 24; the second will be held May 8. Both sessions are scheduled to begin at 6:30 p.m. in the Falls High School chorus room.

“Parents and school staff are both key players in addressing bullying or conflicts between children,” Windels said. “Besides, bullying and conflict between children doesn’t only happen at school.”

Hilfer attended an anti-bullying training about a month ago with other school staff. The material will be presented to teachers in the fall; in the meantime, the information will be passed along to parents through the committee’s anti-bullying sessions.

Mason said the group has been sending flyers to parents and recruiting more people to join the committee.

“I think it’s a grassroots effort; all the parents who are participating have never done something like this in terms of being part of a PTO (Parent Teacher Organization) or PTA (Parent Teacher Association),” Mason said. “Being that we’re not banding around a specific issue or goal, we’re in the process of brainstorming all the possibilities our committee can do to help better the school. It’s starting to roll really nicely.”