What parents really want from school events

Recently I attended my son’s Grade 1 welcome orientation. As a former school administrator, I knew these events well. For years I had been one of the people planning, organising and hosting them. But this time, I was just the parent.

It felt familiar and, strangely, a little amusing because the pressure was no longer on my shoulders. I did not have to worry about whether the slides worked or the information was correct. I could simply sit there and listen.

The presentation covered the usual essentials for families starting school: routines, expectations, practical information and where to find everything afterwards.

Parents’ events running over

And then, as these events often do, it went over time as parents continually asked one more thing they absolutely needed to know.

I sympathised because, in my previous school, we did exactly the same thing. We were always trying to make sure parents had not missed anything important, because inevitably someone would later say “I didn’t know” or “No one told us”.

So the default was always to add one more explanation and one more reminder.

At this orientation event, by the time the school reminded us that everything would also be available on the website, I found myself thinking, perhaps unfairly, “Then why are we still sitting here?”

At that point, I did the thing that would make most school administrators nervous. I got up and wandered around the school.

My son and the other Grade 1 pupils had already been taken to their classrooms to meet their teachers and do some introductory activities.

Getting a real insight into the school

I looked at student work on the walls, the hallways, the classrooms, even the bathrooms. I wanted to see the place itself rather than hear another description of it.

Eventually, I found my son’s classroom. I peeked through the door and saw him and the other children sitting quietly at their desks, drawing. He looked perfectly content.

Standing there, I realised that this was what I had actually wanted to know: what the classrooms were like, how teachers would engage with him, how I felt as I walked around.

Schools understandably want parent events to inspire confidence. And as parents, we do want to know that there are standards, systems, expectations and plans. There is merit to sharing that information, of course.

But the real value of having parents in schools comes from helping them to experience what your school is actually like, helping them to imagine their child there day in, day out, from meeting staff and feeling confident in how everything runs.

Now, seeing these events from the other side, it seems more valuable to use that time for experiences that parents, children and staff can all share.

Perhaps a family and staff relay race or a board games evening, where everyone is doing something together rather than simply sitting and listening.

Making the most of parents’ time

The activity itself matters less than the fact that everyone is taking part on a more or less equal footing. Parents are not simply hearing about the school’s culture; they are experiencing it.

Given that for many working families the act of getting to a school event is no mean feat, it is vital the time they give up to attend feels purposeful and worthwhile. Not just an information dump that could have been an email.

So as schools around the world welcome parents new and old in for another academic year, ask yourself, are you giving them what they truly want or could you be doing more?

Feon Chau is a former school administrator and educator currently based in Taiwan