| Objectives | Community | Principal’s perspective | Small Fry to Go - Guidebook |
There is nothing that solidifies a child's learning experience more than a meaningful connection. In Small Fry to Go , involving parents, families, and the community in activities at the school and providing families with extended activities is easy to do! In no time at all, Small Fry to Go will become more than a class or school project, it will become one in which your whole community can be involved!
The parent, family, and community involvement of Small Fry to Go can be summed up in one word, F I S H . Parents, families, and community members can be a part of Small Fry to Go if you involve them through four simple steps:
First, F ind activities that accommodate schedules and honor individual skills. Parents are the busiest people we know! They may be involved in careers that require them to work hours incongruent to the school day or even travel, post secondary education, or care of family members. The simplest family schedule still involves the day-to-day routines that can leave little or no time for one extra thing. Since Small Fry to Go has such an array of activities and responsibilities, you can find many ways to accommodate schedules and honor individual skills. Most parents identify time as the biggest obstacle they have when it comes to being involved in their child's school or classroom activities. Next, they cite lack of confidence in themselves as being able to help in an education setting because of having little or no “formal education or teaching training.”
The following table shows just some of the ways Small Fry to Go has successfully been able to find activities that accommodate schedules and honor individual skills of parents of students in pre-K through 5 th grades.
Activity |
Time Requirement |
Skill Level |
Assist students in preparing water |
15-30 minutes before or after school. Includes weekends and holidays. |
None |
Assist students in feeding the fish |
15 minutes any hour on the hour. Includes weekends and holidays. |
None |
Create weekly data charts |
One (1) hour on Thursdays. This can be done at home or at school in the computer lab, using a wireless laptop, or in a classroom using the teacher or a student workstation. |
Keyboarding skills and basic knowledge of creating a table |
Assist students in art activities |
One (1) hour during school or after school. |
None |
Display student art work |
One (1) hour during school or after school. |
None |
Pick up fish to be used in art activities from the farmer's market or grocery store |
One (1) hour during school or after school. |
None |
Accompany children on a field trip |
One full school day or Saturday |
None |
Read to children |
30 minutes during or after school |
Reading level of pre K- 5 th grade |
Second, Inform and Involve parents, families, and the community through many channels of communication. Communication is critical to involvement. Frequent and consistent communication about Small Fry to Go activities and opportunities for involvement will lead to increased participation by parents, families, and community members. Remember, people need information in time to prepare. Lack of time to plan can result in disappointing parent, family, and community involvement. Use the school marquis, newsletter, website, and phone messaging system to provide information about Small Fry to Go . After the eggs arrive, informing your parents, families, and community members through a weekly “We're Growing and Growing” news brief will build excitement and enthusiasm throughout the community. In addition, special announcements and requests can be sent out during peak or critical stages in the project. As the community gets more and more involved in the project, increased numbers of parents, family members, and community members will want to stop by to see how the “baby's” are doing and to assist in ways they can.
Third, Share and leverage resources through collaboration and coordination. People like to be involved when they feel like they are contributing. Ask how your parents, families, and community members can get involved and be a part of Small Fry to Go . You might find that you have a biologist in the community who can share pertinent information on the development of the fry. There might be an environmentalist who can share information about the devastation pollution can cause to living things. Is there a reporter who could do a community interest story for the local newspaper or television station? Is there a computer specialist who could design a Small Fry to Go web page with links to additional readings and activities. Maybe there is a university professor who could identify some additional staff and professional development activities for teachers. Possibly a community member owns a restaurant where student art work can be displayed. Maybe a local service organization would be willing to fund additional materials and supplies needed to repeat the program year after year after year. Small Fry to Go can be as inclusive as you can make it. Involving more and more people by leveraging resources will only make your program more successful!
Finally, Highlight new ideas, partnerships, and success. This means CELEBRATE! Make sure that teachers share lesson and activity ideas within and between grade levels. Small Fry to Go is based on a spiraling model that allows increased and advanced opportunities at each grade level. New partners should be recognized and incorporated in to next year's Small Fry to Go . Identify their new roles in the program and include them in future planning. Every component of Small Fry to Go is a learning experience. Decide what works and how you can make it even better next year. Equally important is to identify what didn't work. Is it fixable? If not, move on! Do not take time trying to fix something that just doesn't work.
Parent, family, and community involvement will make your Small Fry to Go project better. It will be more fun, have deeper impact on a child's learning, and serve to unite your community. Be creative in the ways you involve your community. Recognize that the simplest partnership or helping hand will make your Small Fry to Go unique and special to you, your students, your school, and your community.