April 29, 2007

School Videos

I also read an article titled: Video Technology: A Vehicle for Educators to Enhance Relationships with Families by Nicki McCullough Calabrese. I found the concept very engaging, and hope my school (Lincoln K-8) will do this someday! The article discusses the importance of a strong, positive relationship between families and schools to ensure young children’s’ success in school.

The idea for the school videos came from Ruby Payne’s book A Framework for Understanding Poverty (2001), which ironically enough has been read and studied by many of Lincoln’s staff, and has been a center point for many discussions! In her book Ruby Payne suggests making school videos to help develop better communication between home and school. Especially for families in poverty, who may not have the time to read school newsletters, or families with low levels of literacy who may not understand many notices sent home, a video is a great way to share important information with ALL families and to encourage more active school involvement.

The article details the steps involved in creating school videos, from writing grants to obtain funds, to forming a video committee to the actual filming and distribution of the videos. It is also explained that each video should not exceed 20 minutes, and that it is appropriate and helpful to create a different video for each grade level. Parents, children and staff should be included in the filming, and in grade level teams teachers must decide what the essential elements are that need to be portrayed.

I think, while being a big project to tackle, school videos would be a positive communication tool, and all families, but especially low income/low literacy/ELL/new-to-the-school families, etc. would appreciate learning more about their child’s school in such a visual, welcoming way.