Building supportive relationships
Episode Summary: Getting parents involved! Dr. Jane Bluestein talks with Dr. Lulu Lopez, discussing strategies for increasing parent involvement in schools. This program examines some of the reasons that parent-teacher relationships are often not as positive or supportive as they could be, as well as offering specific, practical ideas for bridging the gap between home and school.
Topics include building connections before a problem arises, arranging home visits and get-togethers, offering training and resources for parents, building support for academic and social growth, listening to parents’ concerns, setting boundaries, and dealing with angry or difficult parents (including administrative support for teachers). Right-click here to download a copy of this mp3 file to your hard drive, or click on the bar below to listen.
See below for related links and resources.
Dr. Lulu Lopez
Email: drlululopez@yahoo.com
417-598-2848
Dr. Lulu Lopez has been an educator in three districts around the U.S. for over 40 years. Coauthor of Educating the Heart: Lessons to Build Respect and Responsibility, Dr. Lopez has served as a classroom teacher, principal, director of instruction, school-community relations advisor, coordinator of instructional planning and development for 413 elementary schools, and chaired the district’s Gang Task Force.
She has reached national acclaim for her work with culturally and linguistically different students. She also created a model dual language program and was part of the Fulbright Administrator Exchange Program sponsored in part by the U.S. State Department.
This program was recorded on July 27, 2011. The content is also available on the Energize Students Web site.
© 2012, Dr. Jane Bluestein, Father Sky Media.
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Related links:
“Parents as Allies: Building Your Support Team.” Excerpt from Becoming a Win-Win Teacher (Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Publishing, 2010) by Dr. Jane Bluestein:
“Dealing Successfully with Your Students’ Parents.” Handout by Dr. Jane Bluestein. Tips for building and maintaining cooperative, win-win relationships with the parents of your students.
“Maintaining a Home-School Relationship: Fact Sheet” by Myrna Medina, CDBS Family Specialist.
“Strategies for Developing a Positive Home-School Relationship” by Jan Ziegler.
“Home-School Relations are Crucibles of Culture” by Beth Graue.
“Parents Behaving Badly” by Nancy Gibbs, Time magazine online:
“What Research Says about Parent Involvement in Children’s Education in Relation to Academic Achievement.” From the Michigan Department of Education.
“Home-Grown Students: Program Bridges Gap between School and Home” by Ryan Francis for Education World.
“Fostering Home-School Partnerships.” Includes categories of involvement, stages of adjustment for newcomers, implementing a participation model, tips for home language use, building family literacy, and information on parental responsibility. Includes several pages in Spanish.
“How Can you Deal with Angry Parents?” by Alain Jehlen on NEA Web site.
“9 Techniques for Building Solid Parent-Teacher Relationships.” Tips for Middle School teachers by Kechia Williams.
Also see:
List of Spectrum Podcasts by guest
List of Spectrum Podcasts by topics
About Dr. Jane Bluestein
© 2012, Dr. Jane Bluestein, Father Sky Media.
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