School Family

That’s the intriguing question posed by Lisa Belkin over at the NYTimes moterlode page.

From where I sit, the answer is clearly “yes”, but I think it’s probably the wrong question.  Better to ask if parents can be too involved in helping their kids have school success, and then i think the answer is:  “Not if that involvement is done right”.

Rare is the school that has to turn away parent volunteers and where teachers wished parents would be less connected.  And parent involvement done right includes just the kind of balance and systematic loosening of the reins that Lisa is looking for.  Moreover, involvement is a lot more than attending meetings and school events (though I love those for their involvement benefits and their community-building elements); involvement also includes appropriate partnering on homework and school progress and making sure your child has the support he or she needs to flourish in his or her own way.

Our feature on the value of getting involvement right is a key part of this site’s DNA.  We also have a good quiz to determine if you are a classic “Helicopter Parent“.  

(Note: the comments on the NYTImes site make for an interesting read, too, including a healthy, heated discussion about cultural and ethnic differences around involvement.)

How cool is this?  Was randomly surfing the web, when we ran across this back-to-school story from Connecticut. Was about to move on when I ran across this quote:

“As I surfed the Internet to find some of the most practical advice, I found a wealth of information and some excellent Web sites with advice on almost every area of concern, with tips covering the years from beginning pre-school to college. 
Some advice came from education experts, administrators and teachers, and some articles were written by parents who have been there. Some Web sites even feature question and answer and blog sections, where parents can communicate and ask for specific advice.
I found SchoolFamily.com to be most comprehensive and helpful.”

Nice. We agree.  If she loves it now –wait ’til she sees what we have in store for later this year and beyond. Be sure to bookmark this site (and maybe share with a friend or your whole school community?), because we have tons more resources coming up.  Idea is to make SchoolFamily.com the most comprehensive solutions/info/tools site for school moms and dads on the entire Web.  And according to Ms. Manciero — we’re getting there pretty quick!

Late notice, but I’ll be talking about back-to-school habits for parents tomorrow morning on Fox 25 in Boston.  Believe we’re set to go live at about 8:20 AM.  Will try and get the clip on here later this week, provided it’s not in HD (face made for radio — or at least lo-def!).