Our team wanted to promote connections between home and school and kick off the school year with an intentional effort toward relationship building. The empathy interviews helped us see parents’ reluctance to engage with the school, safety being a big issue. Trust is central to the parents’ concerns and a big reason that our efforts toward relationship building must be full-on and ongoing.
We tapped into community partnerships, school leadership and school staff to make the event happen. Our goal was to get everyone excited and feeling positive about the start of a new school year and to promote positive relationships amongst parents and between parents and teachers. Many teachers, the principal and assistant principal volunteered at the event and mingled with families. We had music, food and games – it was lively!
As far as we know, this was the first time the school held a block party in the community to kick off a school year. We chose to hold it in the community rather than on school grounds to meet everyone where they are and to promote a comfortable environment. While we did not see the turnout we had hoped for, it was a festive environment and a number of families came out to celebrate.
The school staff has discussed holding a kick-off block party each school year to bring the community together. Other events are also drawing in families - a talent show for example. These are drawing numbers of families to the school and that's a big win for us.
The support of community partnerships, the school leadership and the school staff all help to make an event an easier lift. Hosting our event on a Saturday afternoon in the community also made it easier for families and helped to promote a comfortable environment. Likewise, having teachers and administrators reaching out and mingling with families sends a really positive message.
