Parent Participation
Parents are vital to the success of the school and have many opportunities to be involved in their child's learning. Some of the various ways parents participate at Apple Orchard School are:
- Parent Affinity Groups: AO has begun to create monthly opportunities for White and BIPOC (Black Indigenous People of Color) faculty to gather in affinity spaces. These dedicated times and groups create space for teachers to discuss their personal experiences with racial injustice, both in their personal and professional lives.
We are developing a plan to assemble White and BIPOC affinity spaces for parents in order to encourage exploration of their experience raising children both at AO and within their own communities. We hope that these affinity groups will help our community focus on the specific roles that we all can embrace with regard to raising a generation of anti-racist children. We also hope that these spaces will promote feelings of safety, connection, and inclusivity within our AO community.
We actively encourage families to share their religious, spiritual, and cultural traditions with their child’s class. We strongly believe in creating opportunities for our students to ask questions about religious or cultural practices different from their own. Teachers embrace these opportunities as a means to launch conversation about various cultural experiences and values. - Parent Substitutes: Parents are encouraged to sign up as parent substitutes. Parent substitutes may assist in the classrooms whenever a teacher has a planned absence or professional day.
- Parent Class Evenings: Parents and staff plan and coordinate these evenings in October. At the Parent Class Evenings, parents learn more about what happens during their child's typical school day.
- Parent Workshops: Informal workshops are offered throughout the year. The focus is on the challenges and difficulties that concern families with young and older children. In these groups, parents discuss issues such as sibling rivalry, discipline, effects from divorce, loss, toilet training, local area schools, and a range of other topics.
- Expert Speakers: At various times throughout the year, Apple Orchard School welcomes speakers who are experts in areas such as parent education, childhood development, child psychology, and more. These educational events are a great resource for parents, teachers and alumni.
- Volunteer Help: Parents are an important part of our two major fundraising events that support scholarships and teacher development. We welcome all parents to help with Scholarship Fair planning. For more information, please visit our Scholarship Fair page.
To volunteer, contact your child's teacher or stop by the Silo office!
