GILROY
– A group of elementary teachers recruited parents to help with
a school project. It wasn’t a project assigned to students, but
rather a requirement for the teachers’ master’s degree program.
GILROY – A group of elementary teachers recruited parents to help with a school project. It wasn’t a project assigned to students, but rather a requirement for the teachers’ master’s degree program.
The five Rod Kelley Elementary School teachers: Joy Dvorak, third grade; Christel Morley, second grade; Margarida Oliveira, first grade; Evelia Rosso, first grade; and Kristin Strand, first grade; needed to complete a research-based project that would address a problem affecting their school, in order to earn a graduate degree in educational leadership from San Jose State University.
They decided to train parent volunteers to complete time-consuming assessments of students so teachers would not lose out on class time.
A group of about 20 women were trained during the summer and earlier this year to assess 230 students in first through third grades, once every three months. Each assessment, which measures reading skills and language abilities, takes at least half an hour per student and can only be done one-on-one.
“We needed help and there were no school funds available to hire someone,” Morley told the parents at a thank-you recognition last week. “In the time you were giving the assessments, we were able to keep on teaching, and that’s invaluable.”
The data gathered by the parents throughout this school year helps teachers identify the level of each student’s reading and oral language skills and where students need the most help.
Before the parents were trained to help, teachers tested each student themselves.
The parent volunteers said they benefited from the project, as well.
“It made helping with homework a lot easier for me,” said Kristen Hubbard, whose daughter attends Rod Kelley. “When she brings home homework, I know what it’s for.”
“My favorite thing was being able to tell the kids, when they hadn’t passed anything the first one or two times and then for them to pass everything, to give them the high fives and see their smiles,” said Chrissy Hebert, who has two children at the school. That was powerful.”
The teacher’s project also sought to build the school community by involving parents and empowering teachers as leaders.
“The other component was just getting parents involved in the school and in their child’s education,” Dvorak said.
The teachers credited the parents with consistently volunteering their time.
Part of the success in getting so many parents to work so often may have been due to the fact that they were doing a specific task, rather than being asked to simply help out in the classroom.
The mothers agreed, saying they immediately got to see the fruits of their labor. Most are frequent school volunteers.
“I think that if you are involved and (your kids) see that you’re involved, they see how important school is to you as a parent, … you’re placing value on their education,” said Chrissie Amos, who has twin daughters in third grade.
The Rod Kelley teachers expect to receive their master’s degrees later this year. There are about 25 other Gilroy teachers in master’s programs.
