Early Childhood - Connecticut State Department of Education

Social-Emotional Competence and Family Relations Chapter 10
Best Practices: The Family
The following best practices are recommended for use
by teachers and administrators.
Teachers
• Enlist parents in gathering information about
children’s abilities, experiences and development.
• Provide information on Connecticut’s Preschool
Curriculum Framework, 1999 (with 2005
and 2006 reprints).
• Offer home visits as an opportunity for teachers
and families to get to know each other.
• Communicate daily with parents regarding
activities and their child’s progress.
• Work with families to establish systems of
communicating that fit their needs and parenting
styles.
• Help parents of children with disabilities understand
the value of early identification and
planning.
• Provide opportunities for children to help
each other and to recognize each other’s
strengths.
• Provide areas in the classroom where parents
can find information on schedules, curriculum
plans and parent meetings, as well as
share information with each other.
• Provide opportunities for parents to visit
classrooms, such as open houses, projectsharing
events and social activities.
• Show respect for varied family compositions,
values and cultural traditions.
• Provide ideas and support for parents to reinforce
and extend the learning process at
home, e.g., book or activity bags, loan of materials,
at-home project-idea sheets.
• Work with parents to learn key words from
home languages to reduce feelings of isolation
in the classroom.
• Encourage parents to share family cultural
traditions and values.
• Offer to accompany parents to planning and
placement team (PPT) meetings.
• Find opportunities for all parents to contribute
to the program and their child’s early
childhood program experience by volunteering
in the classroom or helping with other
tasks that fit into their daily lives and schedules.
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Administrators
• Create opportunities for parents to develop
relationships with each other for support and
friendship.
• Provide education and support so teachers
understand how cultural differences in parent
beliefs and practices may affect a child’s
adjustment to the class.
• Provide training for teachers to reflect on their
own cultures, goals and parenting styles.
• Encourage teachers to learn a basic vocabulary
of children’s home languages.
• Provide parent education programs, family
social activities, parent rooms, social service
referrals and parent resource libraries.
• Encourage teachers to create environments
that are warm and inviting to parents.
• Create parent handbooks and newsletters.
• Provide all information in each family’s native
language whenever possible.
• Survey parents frequently for ideas and suggestions
for improving school-family relationships.
• Work with parents and staff members to develop
a process for responding to parent concerns.
• Provide information in multiple ways, rather
than only in print or written formats.
• Provide interpreters for parent-teacher conferences.
• Work with local public schools to facilitate
the transition process from preschool to kindergarten.
• Work with community organizations to hold
family events.
• Help parents understand the curriculum
and involve them in contributing curriculum
ideas, projects, fundraising efforts and policies.
• Offer combined programs for parents and
staff members, such as exercise classes or art
workshops.
• Provide resource information to connect parents
with other health and human services
providers.
• Encourage parents to engage in activities
with other community organizations that increase
access, availability and quality of early
childhood programs.