JennaFishoff

MarianFregeolle
HanahKim
JasonKawana
LizLee
BeckyPadilla
CrystalPuentes
FamilyActionProjectClintonElementarySchool
ForourFamilyActionProject,theteamofUCLATEPstudentteachersatClintonElementary
Schoolcreatedandledaworkshopforthestudentsfamiliesandparentsoneasilyaccessibleactivities
forthesummerbreakthatalignwithCommonCoreStateStandards.Wewereintentionalinensuring
thattheparentsfeedbackwoulddeterminethefocusofourworkshop.Afterwecollectedsomedata,
itwasveryapparentthatmanyoftheparentswereinterestedinwaystheycansupporttheirchilds
developmentinScience,Mathematics,andEnglishLanguageArts.Workingwiththeparentfeedback
andlimitedtime,wewereabletoholdanengagingworkshopinwhichwegainedmuchexperience
throughboththedevelopmentandexecutionoftheevent.
Oneofthechallengeswefacedatthebeginningoftheprocesswasmiscommunicationwiththe
schoolscommunitycoordinator.Althoughwehadjustbrieflytalkedaboutholdingtheworkshopwith
her,thenextweekshehadplannedadateandtimeforusandputitontheMaycalendarthatwas
printedanddistributedtothestudentsbeforewehadachancetoconfirm.Inordertoworkaroundthat
commitment,wesuccessfullysentoutparentsurveysinwhichweinformedparentswhattheworkshop
wouldfocuson,providedparentsoptionsoftimes(includingthemorningslot,thecommunity
coordinatorhadreserved),andhadparentsselectthesubjectstheypreferredtolearnmoreabout.We
endedupselectingtheWednesday,May21stfrom9:30to11:00AMtimeslot,becausethatdate
showedsufficientparentavailability.Achallengewehadwasbeingunabletoaccommodateallparents
schedules.Althoughthetimeslotworkedforsomeparents,wefeltthatitlimitedattendanceofparents
whoworkduringtheday.Inourfutureplacements,weagreedthatitwouldbeimportanttoprovide
multipleopportunitiestoaccommodateasmanyparentsandguardiansschedulesaspossible.A
successofthesurveyswasthatwewereabletopinpointtheparentsinterestinlearningmoreabout
LanguageArts,Mathematics,andScience.Withthedateandsubjectsset,wecreatedaflyerforthe
event.Thedayweprintedtheflyertogohome,wecameacrossanotherchallenge.Thecommunity
coordinatorhadalsocreatedaflyerfortheeventthatdidntexactlycapturewhatweweredoingforthe
workshop.Wenavigatedthesituationbythankingherandrespectfullyrequestingthatourflyerbethe
onethatwearegoingtousefortheworkshop.Althoughwehadourchallengesclearlycommunicating
withthecoordinator,wewereappreciativeofthesupportsheprovidedandtherapportshehadwith
theparentsandcommunitymembers.
Ontheactualdayoftheworkshop,wewereexcitedtofindalonglineofparentsandfamily
memberseagertoattendtheworkshop.Webeganbyintroducingourselvesandgaveabriefsummary
ofwhatwehadprepared.Initially,weplannedonhavingparentsrotatebetweenthethreesubject
groupsevery15minutes.However,duetothelargenumberofpeopleintheroomandthelimited
roomspace,wehadtobeflexibleandworkwithourcircumstances.Wedecidedtohaveeachgroup
presentonebyonewithalloftheparentsseatedandlisteningtogether.Luckily,thissetupaddedto
thesuccessoftheevent.Priortotheworkshopwewereconcernedaboutnothavingatranslatorforall
threestations,butthroughthisimpromptuformatwewereabletohaveCrystalprovidetranslationand
supportforallsubjectareas.Also,havingallhandsonboardforeachpresentationmadeforamuch
moreefficientdistributionofmaterialsandtroubleshooting,suchasmakingadditionalcopies,and
accommodatingparentsarrivinglateorleavingearly.Wefeelanothersuccesswastheorganization,
qualityandsmoothdeliveryofeachgroupspresentation.Mostimportantly,wefeltthegreatest
determinantofsuccessoftheworkshopwaswitnessingtheenthusiasmtheparentsportrayedfor
engaginginactivitieswiththeirchildren.Aseachgroupwentuptopresenttheiractivities,parentswere
smiling,takingpicturesandvideos,andpayingcloseattentiontowhatweweredemonstrating.Atthe
endofourevent,weprovidedtheparentswithanemailaddressthatwecreatedinordertokeepthe
linesofcommunicationopenandoffercontinuoussupport.Wedorealizethatwehavemadethe
assumptionthatthemajorityofthefamilieshavethetechnologicalmeans,andwewillmakesuretotake
thatintoconsiderationinfutureevents.
Allinall,wefeltthatwehadasuccessfuleventandapositiveexperienceworkingwiththe
parentsandfamiliesatClintonElementarySchool.Althoughwehavelearnedanddiscussedthe
importanceoffamilyinvolvementinastudentseducation,beingabletobrieflyexperiencebuilding
relationshipswithourownstudentsfamilymembersgaveusaglimpseofwhatwecanlookforwardto
asfutureeducators.