Welcome to the Children’s School Family!  We look forward to getting to know everyone and to working closely together to make each child’s educational experiences the best they can be.  As we contemplate this staff - parent partnership, let’s consider how Covey’s observations about the habits of highly effective families might apply to our home - school relationship.

Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective Families
(St. Martin’s Press, 1998)

In the Children’s School family, let’s proactively offer our best efforts.  When you have ideas, please share them.  Offer your talents and resources.  We frequently offer resources regarding general issues via our newsletter, but please feel free to request pointers related to your family’s unique situation.  When challenges arise, let’s all focus on solutions and take responsibility for whatever we can do to help implement them.

At the Children’s School, we begin with the end in mind by sharing a common vision of developmental goals for children’s self-esteem & independence, interaction & cooperation, communication, discovery & exploration, physical capabilities, and artistic expression & appreciation.  Each child has unique circumstances and strengths, so staff and parents can work together to customize an approach that will help the child progress in the context of the group at school and the family at home.

Our most effective way of putting first things first is to focus on the children, especially their safety and security.  We can best support the staff in their work with the children by providing resources, time, and encouragement.  The same goes for parents, because both parenting and teaching are challenging endeavors.  Let’s all respect each others’ time and intentionally offer positive feedback whenever possible.

The challenge comes when the needs of children, parents, and staff apparently conflict.  By thinking win/win in our most creative ways, we can cooperate to find ways to meet multiple needs effectively.  The initial step in this cooperation is to seek first to understand.  By listening to others’ perspectives, we can better understand the diverse situations and determine the most appropriate priorities to tackle first and the strategies to apply.  By focusing on clear and timely communication, followed by responsive action, we can all progress.

As a school family, we can synergize by celebrating our differences and capitalizing on each family member’s unique contributions to the group.  As we get to know each other, let’s find a niche for each one of us at the Children’s School.  One way to accomplish these goals is to take time to sharpen the saw.  Let’s take advantage of opportunities for informal interaction, like the Open House events this month, as well as the available educational opportunities, like the Staff-Parent Brown Bag.  By spending time together and learning together, we can build relationships as a secure foundation for our partnership, this year and in the years to come.  We look forward to collaborating with you, our Children’s School family.