A joint support project between MiBLSi and Michigan Alliance for Families
Welcome!
Parents and Family Members
If you found this webpage there is a good chance that you are concerned about your child’s learning and/or behavior in school.
You Are Not Alone
This webpage will help you work with the school staff. We have put together information, video clips, forms, and resources to help you understand why your child may be having problems and to help you talk to school staff. We will also tell you where you can go for more help.
You can always contact The Michigan Alliance for Families – a state and federally funded program for parents and family members who have children receiving special education supports and services. When you call Michigan Alliance, you will talk to a knowledgeable parent who can help you.
Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS): Collaboration With Schools and Families
-->Parents and family members are valuable partners in Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) implementation within the school setting.
Examples (adapted from April Goodwin, KRESA):
- Parents can familiarize themselves with their school's Behavioral Expectations so they can teach, monitor, and acknowledge these same expectations at home, increasing home-school consistency.
- Agency staff who are working with students can familiarize themselves with the school’s Behavioral Expectations and teach/acknowledge these same expectations in their programs (after school programs, counseling sessions, etc.).
- Parents/others can get involved with schoolwide and classroom acknowledgment activities (helping with celebrations and ceremonies).
- Parents, community members, agency staff, etc. can get involved with monitoring activities (volunteering and giving good behavior tickets on the playground and in the cafeteria, for example).
- Parents can be aware of the importance of individual behavioral acknowledgments for their child and praise their child for receiving them (receipt of daily tickets, student of the week certificates, etc.).
- Help parents understand how to respond to these acknowledgments (praising the student for their receipt, encouraging students to do better, teaching them how to do better to earn the acknowledgments), and NOT pointing out/showing disapproval if the child doesn't receive one.
- Explain that the school staff need the same type of response from parents regarding their behavior and reading support implementation that the staff are working hard to implement with the students (encouraging them to do their best and praising their PBIS efforts instead of just pointing out what they're not doing well or what they don't have done yet).
- Provide PBIS parent handbooks/brochures that describe behavior and reading support.
- Parents can inquire about how to support literacy development in the school and at home.
Resources
Links for Families