Involve Families
Encourage Attendance at Family Sessions
Each Committee for Children program includes materials for leading a program overview session or sessions for families. To help increase parent interest in these sessions, consider the following:
- Have students help with parent recruitment (for example, have them write personal invitations or letters or host a party for the class with the most parent attendees).
- Have children perform skits or role-plays during the session to demonstrate the skills they are learning and to encourage parent attendance.
- Promote the event on TV (public access stations), radio (public service announcements), or newspaper (community calendar listings).
- Put informational fliers in grocery/department store bags or decorate grocery bags highlighting the parent sessions.
- Staff a table at a local grocery store with students who tell people in one minute or less about the program they are learning in school.
- Provide door prizes/incentives. Local businesses may be willing to donate merchandise or gift certificates for such programs.
- Do a phone tree to help with recruitment and reminder calls. Contacts made in the native language of caregivers can be helpful in encouraging them to attend.
- Keep the session short, fun, entertaining, and pleasant for caregivers to attend.
Make It Easier to Attend
Families are much more likely to attend family sessions if they are convenient. Try the following suggestions to make it easier for families to attend:
- Provide translations of the parent presentation in the languages needed in your school. Caregivers can also be grouped by language with a volunteer interpreter seated with them for ease in translation.
- Provide transportation or transportation vouchers.
- Provide meals/snacks. These can be donated by a local business.
- Offer the session at different times of the day to accommodate varied work schedules (before school, during lunch time, after school, or in the evening).
- Offer the session on different days of the week (weekdays and weekends).
- Offer the session at various locations around town (for example, community centers, churches, schools).
- Hold the session before or after another event at or near the training site (for example, a concert or sporting event).
- Provide child care or tutoring during the session.