Student: So our interview is about partnerships, and the first question that we are going to look at is, what is the current state of your school home partnership at your school? So is there any link between school and the parents?
Principal: Yes, we have a link between school and the parents. We have the parent council, they were chosen by the social worker and they participate in activities, events and in taking lessons when teachers are absent or they have workshops, they even participate in the trips.
Student: So do you think it’s a strong link between the parents and the school?
Principal: Yes, in my school, it’s strong, we can consider it in strong term
Student: So, what tools can be used to design a framework or consist school partnership with the improvement of relationship between the parents and the educators, is there any enhancement, like for now we all use the Whats app to communicate, we are going to look at that but do you think there is any other professional tools like application that we could use?
Principal: We have first of all the meetings, we have three meetings in a year, each semester one, it will be academic meeting for the parents and then we have the SIS, which has the, it’s a way of connecting parents by e-mailing but through the program and not another one.
Also we have application and today, it is for SMS messages to the parents.
Student: Is there anything that you think we could enhance this, are there method or approaches that would enhance the parents’ school partnership?
Principal: Yes, I can do some questionnaires for them to see what they need and analyze the questionnaire to see what I can do regarding that
Student: And then moving on to collaboration between schools and parents, what strategies are used at your school to encourage the interactions between teachers and parents. On a scale of one to ten, how would you access the successfulness of the strategies and what kind of interactions are in?
So you talked about having the parents come and substitute when teachers are not there, do you think there is a link between the success of the student and the parents being involved in the school?
Principal: Yes, definitely, it has a great influence on the student’s attainment. I can , even when I do surveys for the students, do they feel happy when their parents are in the school, will their participation in classes will be more if their parents was attending certain classes? —–grade 1, 2, 3 for the new development, our concern is for parents to teach the students the same way the teacher is doing in the class
Student: So you think when the parents come and sit in observation with the teacher, she knows the method of teaching and she will be able to apply that at home
Principal: Yes and she will follow up that child at home, absolutely
Student: And you think it is a real factor for the early years, from grade 1 to 3 and especially it is because when the kids first come to school they feel scared and then some of them haven’t been to nursery and so you think this is a great success
Principal: Even the parents sometimes they have, it is the first child they entered into school from grade one, they feel they are confused, they don’t know how to study with them, when they attend to the school, they know the way and do it
Student: okay, Going to on communication, what tools are utilized to promote the active communication between parents and teachers in the school? So what do they use? Sorry, sorry, What technologies are used to encourage home collaboration, so, you said SIS is the first?
Principal: we have ehhh, SIS (Student Information System), this is the best I think, and also I have SOP (it’s a Smart Learning Program), I have also class tutor for English classes, they are using it
Student: I would also like to ask, I think there is some tablets that the kids use, do you think it’s a good way of enhancing technology
Principal: It’s like a first way I think because they like this system and they are working, its grabs their attention and motivates them
Student: So you said that is for grade
Principal: Grade 7, 8 and 9
Student: And do parents know about it and they have been introduced and they know what the kids are using them for
Principal: We introduced it to them by handouts, also we informed them by SIS, we should have a meeting with them but because of short of the time we didn’t do the meeting.
Student: Are teachers provided with the information I think during school /home collaboration to improve the teaching processes and meet the needs of them effectively?
So, If the parents come in and explain to you that this thing is going on, not clearly, she is not understanding , why are the teachers doing this procedure and the method, so do you communicate with other teachers to improve the learning of the child?
Principal: Yes, this is done and I most get notes from the parents on SIS and I ask the teachers to come and talk to them regarding the notes they send me and if there is anything they can do to improve their student’s interest in the subject they will do it.
Also we have, they meet with the social worker also regarding certain students, sometimes the teacher find that instead of parents seeing that the student is not understanding certain course, the teacher in the classroom finds that this student is not doing well as the rest, she goes to the social worker and they ask the parents to come and they say, we have to solve this problem
Student: So you do like an internal process first, before providing the parents with what your concerns are, the social worker comes in and interacts with the teacher and identifies the issue and then you call in the parents and have a meeting with all of them
Principal: Yes
Student: As of now, do you see any barriers that active collaboration with the parents and teachers addressing the school, do you see some parents not coming
Student: Some parents they are not committed to coming to the school because they work, they don’t have permission from their work.
Some of the parents they don’t accept the notes that the teachers gives them about their students, my student is perfect, she reads, she writes she does everything at home.
But when she is in the school, not at home, once face to face, but, in the school she is in the class where she has to work in the class with the students, with the teacher, she doesn’t accept that you are saying the student is weak; she will say, no, my child is good, she is doing well, like this
Student: So the main barrier of that is when your teachers try to collaborate in an educational aspect, it starts reflecting back but for other events for national day and for other activities they are all happy to come?
Principal: Yes, they like to come.
Student: And Social media, is it a considered opportunity of engaging parents into a dialogue with the school, is it applicable or not applicable?
Principal: No. I don’t like the social media for school work because there are many rumors, parents were confused, they get end papers from other schools outside , they say, oh, they have a test like this? But it is not for our students but for other school, it’s for other school.
So, all the parents get confused in that group. But I think the main it is the SIS and the SMS which they get from the school, this is the best way for communication in the Whatsapp now, so I don’t prefer either of them.
it is the SIS, and the SMS which they get from the school, this is the best way for communication and Whats app, I don’t prefer either.
Student: so you say the best two method that your school does for collaborating with
Principal Intercepts: it is the official way
Student : in the official way and the safe way where parents know 100% sure that the communication is coming directly from the source itself.
Student: and do you have a system where you send SMS directly to the parent?
Principal: Yes its end way developed in our new program
Student : and you are able to select different parent , different school, the age group, train.
Principal: everything ya, Yes by grade, by the way they go home, by car or by bus , whatever I can do
Student: and you upload that information into the program , at the beginning of the year ?
Principal.: at the beginning of the year, I update the information and the program is ready
Student: and you think it is an effective way of giving
Principal: yes
Student: do you get a report where it says delivered to this parent or you don’t know
Principal: I give them numbers , numbers to people, they receive the message, ya
Student: so you know if you send to one hundred and ninety, and ninety do not receive it, very good.
Student: how do the levels of parent engagement in their child’s academic progress be improved systematically ? do you think there is a system that you say if the parent comes in a certain time, they start achieving more or they get better quality of this things academically ?
Principal: No, am, at the beginning, I told you that we have three meetings, the first meeting within the first semester, before their exams, and even before they start all their exams, they settle the teachers, they have the rules, the way of teaching, the methods, everything, even the type of the questions, which is going to come in the test. and then we have reports, which are sent to the parents and now also they can get their marks from SIS
Student : okay, so its all done digitally, where they get and receive everything from the SIS program
Student: so looking back finally at the section of communication, what tools are utilized to promote the active communication between parents and teachers, we looked at the messaging method where you send SMS, Is there any other method, I think sometimes you get calls from parents
Principal: we get calls from parents, we have inner, there are two lines for parents and school, we call them, the students can use the phones by the permission of the teachers , that’s all
Student: and is there any communication between the teachers and the parents and they collaborate together ?
Principal: Yes, there is, especially with the English teachers mostly.
Student: Okay. What negotiations and strategies are used to handle the conflict and misunderstanding occurring between parents and educators during communications, so sometimes these happens outside of the class where the teacher calls, eemm, the parent calls the teacher, and she misunderstands and then conflicts happens, so what’s your procedure
Principal: the procedure, first of all, I sit with the parent, and if she is very angry, I try to calm her to settle down, I use the language which suits her and (Students cuts In: you don’t add to the fire,) , yeah, i will be positive and try to talk to the teacher also, and try to ask the teacher to come and settle with the parent after both of them are calm and they can communicate correctly, because sometimes misunderstandings happens a lot between teachers and parents.
Student: How often do you think out of 10, like in a school year , how many like you get a case of everyday problems happening
Principal: no no , not everyday, like 5%
Student: what strategies are used to maintain the consistent communication with student and parent, so you do the SIS and messaging , is there something that sustain, like giving papers out regularly, on a weekly basis, to help this communication between parents and ?
Principal: yes, we have weekly plan, it is a way that parents can watch their students are getting , how to do their homework, how to do the projects, this is done even if there is a report for certain behavior. this is given a report by the social worker (even as a report, she can send it to them)
Student: what strategies should be utilized to communicate with parents of students from different background. because you know some parents dont have internet , and some parents dont understand what you are trying to get through a letter , like when you get a message, its different unless you explain it to them ?
Principal: okay, I have certain steps, first of all, by sending messages. and the message should be in emmm, short, they can understand it when they read it, not too much information. then using appropriate language, so that the parents can know what we are talking about, because some of them are primary, some secondary, some university graduates, with each parents you have to talk to them to assimilate method. Support them to participate in school activities: this encourage them to come, and even it affects their student , their child attainment, also we have to provide them with information about this school and the future studies.
Student: okay, do you think that ammm, parents involvement really helps the kid? or would you cut off the partnership? or you really like the aspect of parents being in the school and attending with their kids
Principal: Parents being in school has very effect on the child, but it shouldn’t be all the time, there are certain times they can come and participate in their students learning, but by permission of the administration. The teachers also, she is not allowed to enter the school whenever she wants: no, she is not allowed to do so
Student: do you think there is any withdraw back effect , like some parents came in and you saw other behavior evolving like students who started getting lower grades or not happy that her parents come, or this doesn’t occur
Principal; no this doesn’t occur
Student : so it is always the positive. so the more the parents come, the happier the kids…
Principal: when the parents come, and we see grade one , two three, cycle one until grade five, the parents are mostly coming and they like to come to ask about their child, students, likely too, they don’t give their parents the paper that they have a meeting, because they don’t want them to come, but sometimes when they receive the message, they come. if they see a certain note that their child, the student is not doing well, they ask the student to study hard, they get high marks.
Student: Do you think the upper grades do that because they feel they are more independent and strong and they can manage themselves?
Principal: Yes, they think that, but they are not independent still, they need to be followed up by their parents.
Student: and do you see a lot of fathers coming to participate in partnership with the school or it is mainly the mothers?
Principal: it is mainly the mothers but ehhh, 1% I have of the fathers coming
Student: so not a lot, and do you think the parents are from the lower grades or from the higher grades
Principal: ahhh, lower, lower grades, this is mostly, because the mother is from the, she doesn’t know how to talk, that is why the father is coming.
Student: so the Fathers of grade 6,7,8,9, 10,
Student: is there anything you will like to add as well? Thank you so much for having me here and doing the interview with me, it went really well. And you talked well. Thank you so much.