TASK : suggest at least four ways of removing gap between school and society at large among Tanzanian

Introduction

Society  is  group  of people  who  share  the same culture ,further  more society  have  material  that  a person  a particular  area. To  utilize  theory  these  material  in paper  way  while  school  is a place  where by  a person  get  knowledge  this  means  that school  is area  were  child  go to   raise  her/his  goodness  and knowledge to use  it  order  to control  society  in positive manner .The suggested curiculum should   to take material that found  in the  society

Ways to Support Student Success Initiatives by Bridging the Gap between School and Home

The gold standard of a successful educational environment is one in which parents and teachers work towards aligned goals, the students have the latest technology at their fingertips both at school and at home, and communication between parties is welcomed and encouraged.

Of course, supporting student success is not always easy. Bridging the gap between school and home can be fraught with challenges and can impact student achievement. Getting in touch with parents who speak a different language, for instance, can be nearly impossible without the proper infrastructure or translation services in place. Studies also show that parental involvement has a positive effect on grade point averages, and lack of parent participation in the learning process can be detrimental. What’s more, students may have access to technology at school that they just can’t get at home, which can be a barrier to learning comprehension.

Taken a step further, one might argue that student success relies on many different relationships to support growth. From educators, to school personnel, to families, to others in the community, there must be a firm commitment to student success from all sides in order to drive home everything that is taught in the classroom.

The 2016-2017 school year was a transition year for the implementation of the federal education law original passed as the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965. The No Child Left behind Act of 2001 transitioned to the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which was signed into law on December 10, 2015. In SY2017-18, districts are beginning to implement ESSA-related changes, and it’s even more important to support student success initiatives both in school and at home.

Below, we’ll discuss four important ways to promote better student success and bridge the gap between school and home including laying the groundwork of core values, implementing effective communications strategies, and promoting at-home learning opportunities whenever possible.

Agree on core values and objectives

The publication, Family-School-Community Partnerships 2.0, discusses the importance of core values when it comes to achieving student success both at school and at home. These values may include:

Educator relationships. Teachers and families alike have important roles in the child’s learning development. As the publication puts it, “The family is the expert on the child; the teacher is the expert on the curriculum.” Both are educators, and both are significant.

Parent involvement at home. Encouraging family involvement is crucial, and can be effective in any home no matter the language, income, or family structure. Families should feel confident in supporting their students to be achievers in order to reinforce what they learned in the classroom.

Parent/teacher communication. It’s critical for parents and teachers to communicate effectively and positively before beginning discussions about academics.

Communicating about and agreeing on baseline values helps align parents, teachers, and students on what matters, and the associated goals. Taking time to plan and consider any challenges or difficulties along the way can make a big impact down the line.

 Seek out communication strategies

Professional educators know how important it is to communicate effectively with students and their families. Communication is at the heart of any meaningful relationship, and good relationships can help carry students through challenging situations in school and at home.

Above all, communication is essential to creating and maintaining high student achievement. And when it comes to bridging the gap between school and home, it’s all about making the effort to align student success goals between the classroom and home.

Challenges can crop up when families speak a language other than English at home. In this case, parent/teacher communication isn’t always as easy as making a phone call or sending a standard parent notification. Sometimes, schools or districts make an effort to do this in-house by hiring a trained translator or interpreter.

While this works in some situations, the cost and burden of hiring additional personnel can create unnecessary strain. Another communication strategy is to work with a language services partner focused on communication compliance to ensure parent notifications are available in all necessary languages. This can help schools feel confident that they are not only bridging the teacher/parent gap, but overcoming the language or culture gap as well — not to mention meeting compliance standards for ESSA at the same time.

 Promote at-home learning

At-home learning opportunities give students a leg up when it comes to ongoing success, and some experts even believe that parental involvement is the single most important factor in a student’s educational achievement. Yet, not all schools have processes or communication plans in place to promote such involvement.

Under NCLB, Title I funds were allocated to support parent involvement with things like written parent involvement policies, parent involvement programs, and communications to parents detailing their students’ progress. As districts transition to ESSA, requirements for these types of programs may change.

Of course, at-home learning can happen with or without federal subsidies. At-home learning can refer to educational opportunities like self-motivated reading and writing, community service projects, science and art programs, and more.

 Grant access to technology

When it comes to student support strategies, technology plays an important role. Technology in schools has changed dramatically in recent years and has a much different place in the classroom than ever before. However, students often have access to advanced technologies in the classroom but lack the same opportunities at home, which can impact their performance and overall success.

For instance, if a student uses a computer everyday at school but doesn’t have a computer at home, there could be a disadvantage when it comes to solidifying lessons he or she learned in the classroom. Furthermore, many parents — while eager to volunteer in their students’ classrooms may feel a sense of inadequacy when it comes to helping with technology or programs that are not familiar.

Fortunately, many states and districts are developing programs to combat these inconsistencies. Maine’s statewide learning technology initiative, for example, led the charge to give students take-home access to technology like laptops and even home internet. A similar program, Power My Learning, helps align students, parents, and teachers at participating schools with equipment, training, and technical support to strengthen learning relationships and raise academic standards.

Another solution is to offer digital literacy programs for parents, which can serve to help parents learn more about the digital programs their students are using, as well as raise their confidence when it comes to helping out in the classroom and at home.

In summary, bridging the gap between school and home is critical to supporting student achievement no matter the student’s age, economic status, or native language. Although students spend the majority of their time at school each day, the role of parents, family, and community in student learning is not to be underestimated. Teachers and parents must work together to lay the foundations of strong values, positive communication, and lifelong learning both in school and at home, and move forward using effective communications strategies as a means of growing those values.