ill use this information in your final paper for this course so be sure to save your notes. Please be thorough and take very good notes. Your final grade will be in jeopardy if you do not complete this assignment.)

For this assignment you will have to complete a tour and an interview and then write a paper. You do not have to do everything at the same time and you may find that it works better for you to break the assignment down into smaller, more manageable parts. Some of you, however, may have time constraints and you might want to do everything all at once. It is up to you, your schedule and your time management style. If you manage your time wisely, you will have at least four weeks to complete this assignment.

Please fill out this worksheet so I can see the evidence of your tour and interview and turn it in with the paper. Then submit all of this assignment as ONE file. Just attach the paper to the end of this assignment sheet.

Tour
If you are in a school or day care setting for your field site, use that site for this entry. If you are not in a school or day care setting, you will have to locate one in which to do this journal assignment. Please ask for an appointment well in advance and use the letter of introduction I will give you, if needed. If you currently work in a child care center or a program with young children or a family member owns a facility, you will have to select another program for this project. You can, however, use your child’s school. The school or day care center you select should serve children no older than twelve years of age. Make arrangements to tour the facility and fill in the information on the following worksheet. If you are doing your field experience at this site, you might ask for permission to take a self-guided tour. You may find some of this information in the office, in the halls, in the library (if there is one) or in the classrooms. If you are in a public school, you may be able to find some of this information online. Be sure to ask the teacher you are assigned to, as well. It will be impossible to find everything on your own. Act like an investigative reporter. Find out about ALL of the ways that they communicate with parents. For more information on the “Flow of Communication,” please see the handout I have for you.

Please fill in all information on this assignment sheet and turn in with the assignment.

Name of school or child care center: __________________________________________
Person who took you on the tour (put “self” if you did a self-guided tour):___________________________________________________________________
Date of tour: __________________

Ages served: (check all that apply)
Infant/toddlers _____
Preschool _____
Kindergarten _____
First – Fifth grades _____
Type: (check all that apply)
_____Day Care ____Public school ____ Private ____Federal (ex: Head Start) ____Church ____Non-profit _____For Profit _____Other (Please explain) ________________________________________________________________________
As you enter the school and walk to different parts of the building, look for evidence of written communication. For example, look for a parent bulletin board, communication forms, posted parent child projects showing home activities, parent meeting notices or signup sheets for parent conferences. Under each category below, write a paragraph describing the items that you saw. The flow of communication will be from parent to teacher, parent to center or school, center or school to parent or teacher to parent. In the spaces below, please list all of the examples you found for each section.
Examples of communication from parent to teacher:




Examples of communication from teacher to parent:

Examples of communication from parent to school or center:

Examples of communication from school or center to parent:

Interview

You will interview the principal, vice principal or a teacher if you are in a public, private or charter school. If you are in a childcare center, you will interview the director or assistant director. Many schools and childcare centers have Parent Handbooks and you might find the answers to the interview questions in the handbook. Ask the administrator prior to the interview if there is a parent handbook that you can have or if here is one online. You can use the Handbook to organize your interview and you may not need to ask all the questions. Most Handbooks are very comprehensive. Many administrators prefer that you give them the questions in advance. If the administrator wants to see this assignment in advance, that is no problem. Just make a copy of it for her/him.
Name of person interviewed: ______________________________
Their position: _________________________________________
Date of interview: _______________________________________
Did you receive a Parent Handbook or view one online? ____ yes ____no

Interview Questions

1. How do parents first hear about your program?
2. How do you give the following information about your program? (Please remember – I do not want the answers to the following. For example, don’t give me the hours of operation. I want to know how they communicate the following to the parents.)

● Statement of program philosophy and goals
● Payment information (fees, refunds)
● Hours of operation
● Holidays, closings
● What to do when a child is sick
● Transportation and pick-up arrangements
● What parents are expected to provide (such as children’s food, clothing)
● Opportunities for family involvement
● Daily activities provided for the children 
● Special events/field trips
● How discipline is handled
● How difficulties or differences are handled

3. How do you keep parents informed about the following aspect of their child’s experience? (Please remember – I want to know how they communicate the following to the parents.)

● Changes in child’s health or behavior
● Injuries to child
● Child’s meals/snacks
● Events of child’s day
● Child’s developmental progress
● Teacher changes

4. How do parents keep you informed of the following? (Please remember – I want to know how they communicate the following to the parents.)

● Changes in child’s health or behavior
● Home injuries 
● Eating patterns 
● Home events 
● Home customs and celebrations
● Preferences in child care practices
● Other matters important to them

5. How do you make family members feel welcome in the program?

6. What opportunities do you offer for parent participation? Check all that apply.

Observation of classroom activities _____
Sharing aspects of child’s culture with rest of class (cooking, music 
other items or activities) _____
Field trip assistance ____
Social functions _____
Parent meetings _____
Parent conferences ____
Fund raisers _____
Program planning _____
Parent council/board _____
Volunteer opportunities _____
Translators for conferences or meetings _____
Other(s) _____ Explain.

7. Which of the following do you use? Check all that apply.



\\\\\Parent Policy Handbook _____ Daily report forms _____ Parent/child projects _____
Parent information memos _____ Newsletters _____ Parent conference forms _____
Children’s portfolios ____ Accident report forms _____ Medication forms _____
School-Home Journals _____ Email ______ Email with pictures _____
Parent Bulletin Boards _____ Home visits _____ Other(s) _____ Explain.

8. What are some community services that you have referred families to or that you have used for training?

9. How do you tell families about community events they might want to attend? What are some examples?
Paper
Once you have completed the tour and interview, please write a two page paper of what you learned in the interview, including your opinion of the (1) types of communication and (2) parent involvement at this school or child care center. What do you think is the (3) weakest area of communication? What do you think is the (4) strongest area of communication? (5) What communication tool was your favorite? (6) Are parents given enough opportunities to be involved with their child’s education? In your opinion, (7) are families valued?