Amherst St. School in Nashua Benefits from Parent Involvement

Schools around the country are facing the ramifications of the 2001 NCLB legislation that is currently up for re-authorization. As the principal of Amherst Street School in Nashua NH from 2004-2008 I felt the pinch of this legislation directly, when the school was placed in corrective action by being a School In Need of Improvement for the fourth year. Having children for only 6 ½ hours a day was great in order to let teachers put their strategies to work in the classroom, but certainly not enough time to really help children meet with success. The answer? Parental involvement! Thankfully, we connected with NH State PIRC in 2006 to assist us with this effort…and what a difference it made!

Connecting with Stakeholders

One of our greatest moves was to complete a school index survey to help us identify the issues that were getting in our way. Staff, parents, and administration took part in this survey. PIRC assisted us with data collection, and results gathering. A parent/teacher team took the results and chose four goals that would frame our thinking over the following two years. Issues included studying at home, clear expectations for teachers and parents, understanding of school goals, and building parental capacity. To these ends our work as a true team began. 

Putting the Plan to Work

Over the course of the following two years, the PIRC connection became very valuable for all involved. Teams of parents were trained to provide parent workshops in the evenings. Topics included “Studying at Home”, “Interactive Reading”, and “Ready, Set, Here I Come”. Two parents attended a “Train the Trainer” workshop devoted to each of the topics. These workshops were held at the school in both English and Spanish, with dinner provided. The “Studying at Home” and “Ready, Set, Here I Come” workshops were held in a series of three. Childcare was provided at the school with assistance from other school staff and high school students studying education. In the spring of 2008, we modified our standard Kindergarten Orientation with the help of PIRC. A bit of parent education was done on that evening and goodie bags were supplied to each student to encourage practice of early literacy and basic number skills.

Janet C. Valeri, Principal, Amherst St School (through 2007-8)

Editor's Note: Principal Valeri has since moved on to Nashua's Ledge St. School where she is initiating similar efforts!