Parent Involvement  |  Get Involved |  Schools and Departments

How to get Parents to Attend Meetings:

1. Create an information area (on the school website and in the office on a bulletin board) where you include the SAC meeting times, discussion topics, purpose and etc.
2. Remind! Remind! Remind! Find different ways to remind parents of meetings. Advertise dates, times, agenda and the importance of parent perception in decision making.
   • Flyers
   • Phone calls
   • Email
   • Local publications
   • Marquee
   • Parentlink
   • Newsletter
3. Identify accomplishments from the prior meetings.  Praise positive ideas that were discussed.
4. Set aside time to address current economical or emotional issues that parents may have interest in learning remedies
   • Tips for Stretching a Penny
   • Dealing with Stress
   • Current Teen Issues – What you Need to Know About Fads

Create a welcoming atmosphere:

1. Provide free child supervision during the meetings.
2. Have refreshments for parents (goodies and drinks are always inviting).
3. Print and handout “Learning the Lingo” or other word maps/definitions for parents at the meeting so they don’t get lost in the language.
4. Explain programs or acronyms before making reference to them.
5. Don’t assume that parents attend all meetings and you don’t need to explain programs, acronyms, and school lingo because you did it at the last meeting.
6. Explain and answer questions without exasperation.
7. Set meeting times that are convenient for PARENTS.  Follow the allotted meeting times (don’t rush through information and don’t let the meeting drag on either).
8. Make sure SAC members are trained and well-informed.
9. Don’t allow members to be aggressive or overbearing; encourage equal involvement by all.

Please visit the School Resources section for documents intended for schools to use for communicating SAC information to SAC members and families. The documents are available in a word document format as well as PDF.

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