CDRC Parent Participation

Parent participation is an integral part of our program and therefore volunteer opportunities are open to all and volunteers are selected in an unbiased way.
As a parent, we would like to invite you to become involved in one or all of the following ways:

1. Support your child's daily transition to school by sharing information about your child's interests and abilities with the teachers, and by keeping teachers informed of changes and events that might affect your child. Daily contact with the teachers is crucial to meeting the needs of your child.
2. Attend parent orientation/allow a home visit and attend open house which includes:
3. Attend parent meetings.
4. Return all forms, questionnaires, etc., promptly to the center.
5. Attend Parent/Teacher conferences during the Fall and Spring semesters.
6. Take time to read the parent bulletin board, check your child's folder each day, and read all materials sent home with your child.
7. Volunteer to participate in field trip activities.
8. Volunteer to share some of your talents and time in your child's class through story-telling, cooking, art, music, sewing, crafts, artifacts from trips taken, or your profession.
9. Volunteer to share any of your family traditions with your child's class.
10. Come have lunch with your child.
11. Come to play.
12. Help with special events. (circus, carnival, picnic, fundraiser, playground project, etc.)
13. Serve on our Advisory Board.
14. Help in your child's classroom so that our teachers can attend the conferences or workshops. They will become rejuvenated from attending, and you will see what a day in their shoes is like.
15. Work in the garden, with or without the assistance of children.
16. Read or contribute to the classroom newsletter/blog.

Our teachers and administrators use a variety of formal and informal strategies to become acquainted with and learn from families about their family structure; their preferred child-rearing practices; and information families wish to share about their socioeconomic, linguistic, racial, religious, and cultural backgrounds. Home visits are conducted at the beginning of the school year. Parents are polled in their enrollment paperwork as well as questionnaires throughout the year regarding their family, beliefs, and preferences. We hold parent-teacher conferences in both the fall and spring semesters (and at any other time either party requests).

We value the time we spend each day interacting with families, developing strong reciprocal relationships, and getting to know the child and his or her family as a unit. We learn from parent's expertise regarding their child's interests, approaches to learning, developmental needs, and to learn about their concerns and goals for their children. This information is incorporated into ongoing classroom planning. Parents are encouraged to share preferences, concerns, and questions with their child's classroom teacher or administrator at any time. The relationship and understanding we develop with you make the experience for children, families, and staff a rewarding one.

Program staff communicates with families on a daily basis regarding activities and developmental milestones, shared caregiving issues, and other information that affects the well-being and development of their children.

Nothing can replace the face to face daily interactions staff have with parents. However, staff also rely on bulletin boards, notes on sign-in sheets, notes in children's folders, newsletters/blogs, information sharing apps, emails, and phone calls to establish and maintain open communication.