Open School Week: An Opportunity for Parents and Teachers to Work Together October 2007

Oct 24, 2007 12:45 PM

             Every year around this time the New York City public school system schedules Open School Week, a series of afternoons and evenings set aside for parents to visit their children’s schools to meet with their teachers and other school personnel. The term is a bit of a misnomer because it is not literally a single week but rather a period of several days spread out over late October and mid-November to accommodate the work schedules of as many parents as possible.

             The United Federation of Teachers, the union representing public school educators in the city, has always encouraged parents to take advantage of this opportunity to meet with teachers, guidance counselors and principals to learn how their children are doing in school and where they need to improve.

              But there is a growing sense of urgency for more parental involvement this year because of a number of factors:

              The New York City public school system has received an unprecedented infusion of resources in terms of state education aid, and the elected officials who helped secure that aid – as well as parents, newspaper editorial writers, conservative critics of public education and the general public – want to see results that justify the extra aid.

              Principals now have greater authority and independence in decision-making but they also are being held more accountable for the academic performance of their students, meaning their careers are on the line. And in this age of accountability with three potentially competing accountability systems on the national, state and local levels, teachers and students feel more and more like the only things that matter are their test scores.

               The only way to both ensure that we keep our focus on teaching and learning in the fullest sense of those terms is to ask parents to take as active a role as possible in their children’s education and work with teachers. When we strengthen the parent-teacher partnership we help kids both at school and at home.

             This partnership is crucial because neither parents nor teachers alone can address all the needs of children particularly in this new environment. Both parties must work together to help kids cope with the challenges of increased academic demands and expectations, the growing influence of gangs in some schools and crime on the streets between school and home.

             Parents across the city will soon receive a newspaper-like guide published by the United Federation of Teachers that lists the dates for Open School Week and explains how parents can make the most of it. The guide is available in six languages and is being given to kids at school to take home to parents. It is also being distributed to various community organizations and neighborhood libraries to reach the broadest possible audience.

             The Open School Week dates are:

 ·        The evening of Thursday, October 25, and the afternoon of Friday, October 26, for parents of high school students.

·        The evening of Wednesday, November 7, and the afternoon of Thursday, November 8, for parents of special education or District 75 students.

·        The afternoon of Tuesday, November 13, and the evening of Wednesday, November 14, for parents of elementary school students.

·        The evening of Monday, November 19, and the afternoon of Tuesday, November 20, for parents of intermediate and junior high school students.

             Educators hope parents across the city will take advantage of this opportunity to discuss ways to help kids succeed. With parents and teachers working together to forge new partnerships or strengthening existing ones, kids stand a much better chance of both dreaming their dreams and achieving them. After all, isn’t that what schooling is all about?