Hilary L. Kreisberg & Matthew L. Beyranevand 
Partnering With Parents in Elementary School Math 
A Guide for Teachers and Leaders

How to build productive relationships in math education 



I wasn’t taught this way. I can’t help my child! These are common refrains from today’s parents and guardians, who are often overwhelmed, confused, worried, and frustrated about how to best support their children with what they see as the ‘new math.’ The problem has been compounded by the shift to more distance learning in response to a global pandemic. 
Partnering With Parents in Elementary School Math provides educators with long overdue guidance on how to productively partner and communicate with families about their children’s mathematics learning. It includes reproducible surveys, letters, and planning documents that can be used to improve the home-school relationship, which in turn helps students, parents, teachers, and education leaders alike. Readers will find guidance on how to:

  

· Understand and empathize with what fuels parents’ anxieties and concerns

· Align as a school and set parents’ expectations about what math instruction their children will experience and how it will help them

· Communicate clearly and productively with parents about their students’ progress, strengths, and needs in math 

· Run informative and fun family events 

· support homework 

· Coach parents to portray a productive disposition about math in front of their children



Educators, families, and students are best served when proactive, productive, and healthy relationships have been developed with each other and with the realities of today′s math education. This guide shows how these relationships can be built.

قائمة المحتويات

Praise Pages

About the Authors

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Why This Book Now?

Lessons Learned from the COVID-19 Coronavirus Epidemic

Examining Your Core Beliefs

What Role Have You Played?

What is a Parents Role in Their Child′s Mathematics Learning?

How to Use This Book

The Goal and Structure of This Book

APPLY IT!

Stepping Into Parents′ Shoes

Asking Parents About School Communication

What Parents Do and Why

What Can We Learn?

Putting It All Together

Frequently Asked Questions

Apply It! Teacher Activity

Apply It! Leader Activity

Understanding What Parents Need to Know About Today′s Math

What Parents Really Need to Know About Today′s Math

Math Instruction Evolves…Just Like Everything Else

Mathematics is Not a Gene

We Prepare Students for the Future, Not Today

What Parents Really Need to Know About Their Child′s Math

Putting It All Together

Frequently Asked Questions

Apply It! Teacher Activity

Apply It! Leader Activity

Planning Effective School-wide Mathematics Communication

The Systemic Problem

The Determining Roles of All Stakeholders

Clarifying Roles of Leaders, Teachers, and Other Educators

Clarifying Roles of Parents

Crafting and Communicating Consistent School-wide Policies

Establishing Homework Policies

Communicating Grading Policies

Getting Buy-In and Commitment from All Stakeholders

Putting It All Together

Frequently Asked Questions

Apply It! Teacher Activity

Apply It! Leader Activity

Exploring How to Communicate with Parents About Math

What Makes Written Communication With Parents Effective?

Write So They Can Read It

Write So They Want to Read It

Relate to What Parents Know

Communicate Frequently

Tools For Communication and When to Use Them

Traditional Communication

Digital Communication

Putting it All Together

Frequently Asked Questions

Apply It! Teacher Activity

Exploring What to Communicate to Parents About Math

Reaching Parents-at-large

Schoolwide Beginning of Year Letter

Homework Communication from School Level to Parents

Mid-Year Homework Survey

Reaching Parents-as-a-class

Beginning of Year Survey

Beginning of Year Letter from the Teacher

Unit Preview Letters

Weekly Letters

Mid-Year and End-of-Year Surveys from Teacher

Reaching Parents-as-individuals

Putting It All Together

Frequently Asked Questions

Apply It! Teacher Activity

Apply It! Leader Activity

Hosting Parent Events

Parent Experiences

Non-Math Specific Events

Back to School Nights

Parent-Teacher Conferences

Math-Specific Events

Family Math Nights

Parent Math Nights

Family Math Days and Mornings

Parent Book Clubs

Mystery Mathematicians

Putting It All Together

Frequently Asked Questions

Apply It! Teacher Activity

Apply It! Leader Activity

Conclusion: Shifting the Narrative

Our Top 8 Ways to Support Parents in Mathematics

References

Index

عن المؤلف

Dr. Matthew L. Beyranevand is the K-12 Mathematics Department Coordinator for the Chelmsford Public Schools in Massachusetts. Matthew is an ambassador for the Global Math Project, consults on the creation of mathematics curriculum, and a member of the Massachusetts STEM Advisory Council. He also serves as an adjunct professor of mathematics and education at the University of Massachusetts at Lowell and Fitchburg State University. He is the author of the book Teach Math Like This, Not Like That, co-author of the book Adding Parents to the Equation: Understanding Your Child’s Elementary School Math, and his website is www.mathwithmatthew.com.  Twitter: @Mathwith Matthew