Promoting Inclusive and Equitable Futures: This project aims to create resources to support preschoolers staying in schools and to help people learn about the preschool to prison pipeline.

When children are having a hard time in the classroom, it is important for adults to not react by excluding them. Educators and caregivers need to work together to understand the child’s needs to make a plan that best supports them.

“I took the initiative to talk with the teacher early on about my child’s behaviors.”

“I know that [my kids] need extra attention, extra support. Right? So, from the get-go, I’m talking to these teachers. I’m developing a relationship with them...You don’t wait for the teacher to come to you. You go to the teacher right away. You set up a meeting before a teacher knows you. I don’t care how annoying it is. You want a teacher to know your kid’s difficulties, your kid’s pros, your kid’s cons, what works, what doesn’t work right? You want them to know right away. You don’t wait... You’re going to ask them what they’re trying. You’re going to suggest things. And then you’re going to follow up. Is this working?” 

“The school called me a lot of times. I actually lost a couple of jobs.”

“I wouldn’t drop [my daughter] off at school until maybe 8:30 and sometimes by 9:30, they were calling me like, ‘You have to come pick her up because she moved 5 times and we can’t keep running after her.’ And in the beginning I said, ‘Well I don’t know what you guys want me to do I have to go to work.’ ...So that was a really big thing. The school called me a lot of times. I actually lost a couple of jobs because I’m a home health aide. In the field that I’m in, I can’t just up and leave my patient to go pick up my daughter, but my daughter comes first, so that was a really big issue...They was calling me every five seconds to come get her. So I got frustrated with them and I told them if they couldn’t come up with a solution and if they kept calling me then I was just going to remove her from the school because it seems like you guys are not equipped to handle her.”

Strategies for Caregivers

When children are in preschool, it can be hard for schools and caregivers to work together. This is something many caregivers and schools across the country experience. Caregivers and schools supporting each other may take time and effort (Purtell et al., 2022). 

Some strategies include:

• Before your child starts school, talk with your child’s teachers about their needs and what works and what doesn’t work to help your child.
• Talk to your child’s teachers about what you think they do well so that they feel valued (Bigras et al., 2021).
• Caregivers like it more when they agree on the best way and time to talk to teachers. For example, some caregivers prefer quick updates when picking up or dropping off their child. Other caregivers might want more time during conferences to discuss how their child is doing. Parents can let teachers know at the beginning of the year how they like to talk about their child (Premo et al., 2022).
• Teachers and caregivers need to figure out ways to help children to make good choices. Since talking to each other can be hard, it is important that caregivers and teachers learn to work together. That creates a better space for children to feel good about themselves (Heryanti & Nurhayati, 2023).
• Tell your child’s teacher about how you may need to talk to them around your work schedule. Many caregivers find it hard to be involved in their child’s education because of their jobs. This happens to thousands of caregivers, and it is not their fault. Schools need to know that caregivers want to be involved, but sometimes they are unable because of their job (Oke et al., 2021).

Strategies for Providers

• Talk to the child’s caregivers in advance to learn about their needs and what works best for them.
• Work with caregivers as teammates, and point out the things they do well. To make sure all children get an early education, schools need to respect that there are lots of ways to parent. Caregivers should be seen as true partners in their child’s learning (McWayne et al., 2022). When educators focus on the caregivers’ strengths and listen to their thoughts about their children, they can build relationships based on respect. This also helps create a classroom that welcomes all cultures and values caregivers as true partners (McWayne et al., 2022). When schools and caregivers work together, it can help build strong relationships. This can lower a student’s absences (Premo et al., 2023).
• Look for things that caregivers do well. When educators have a positive view of parents, they are more likely to reach out when a child needs help. This can lower a student’s absences and make caregivers feel more welcome at school (Iruka et al., 2011; Purtell et al., 2022).
• Find ways to be kind and help families feel safe talking and working with the school. Even small actions can make a big difference. For example, caregivers feel more welcome and included when they can bring other kids and family members with them to school (Premo et al., 2023).

References

Bigras, N., Lemay, L., Lehrer, J., Charron, A., Duval, S., Robert-Mazaye, C., & Laurin, et I. (2021). Early Childhood Educators’ Perceptions of Their Emotional State, Relationships with Parents, Challenges, and Opportunities During the Early Stage of the Pandemic. Early Childhood Education Journal, 49(5), 775–787. (https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-021-01224-y)

Devlieghere, J., Li, Y., & Vandenbroeck, M. (2022). Beyond The Veil Of Parents: Deconstructing The Concept Of Parental Involvement In Early Childhood Education And Care  Early Years, 42(4–5), 587–598. Taylor and Francis— Journals online (ht tps://doi.org/10.10 80/09575146.2020.1840526)

Heryanti, Y., & Nurhayati, S. (2023). Nurturing Self-Esteem in Early Childhood: A Novel Approach Through Parent-Teacher Collaboration in Positive Parenting. Journal of Education Research, 4(4), 1974-1981. (https://doi.org/10.37985/jer.v4i4.611)

Iruka, I. U., Winn, D.-M. C., Kingsley, S. J., & Orthodoxou, Y. J. (2011). Links between parent-teacher relationships and kindergarten. University of Chicago Press Journals online. (ht tps://doi.org/10.10 8 6/6 576 52)

McWayne, C. M., Melzi, G., & Mistr y, J. (2022). A home-to-school approach for promoting culturally inclusive family–school partnership research and practice. Educational Psychologist, 57(4), 238–251. Taylor and Francis–Journals online. (https://doi.org/10.1080/00461520.2022.2070752)

Oke, A., Butler, J. E., & O’Neill, C. (2021). Identifying barriers and solutions to increase parent-practitioner communication in early childhood care and educational services: The development of an online communication application. Early Childhood Education 
Journal, 49(2), 283–293. Springer Nature link website (ht tps://doi.org/10.10 07/s106 4 3-0 20-0106 8-y

Premo, E., Pilarz, A. R., & Lin, Y.-C. (2023). Pre-kindergarten teachers’ family engagement practices and English Language Learners’ attendance and early learning skills: Exploring the role of the linguistic context. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 63, 1–14 . Science Direct website (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2022.10.005)

Purtell, K. M., Jiang, H., Justice, L. M., Sayers, R., Dore, R., & Pelfrey, L. (2022). Teacher perceptions of preschool parent engagement: Causal effects of a connection-focused inter vention. Child & Youth Care Forum, 51(5), 937–966. Springer Nature Link website (https://doi.org/10.10 07/s10 566-0 21-09661-x)

Williams-Johnson, M., & Gonzalez-DeHass, A. R. (2022). Parental role construction leading to parental involvement in culturally distinct communities. Educational Psychologist, 57(4), 231–237. Taylor and Francis— Journals online. (https://doi.org/10.10 8 0/0 0 461520. 20 2 2. 21315 5 4)

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