Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
A unique community gathering will be staged once more tomorrow at one of the kingdom’s leading international school which allows parents and members of staff to talk over issues of mutual concern in an informal setting.
Coffee and a good chat will again be on the agenda at Riffa Views International School following the introduction of Parent Shares sessions 18 months ago which have grown in popularity … with an additional spin-off of helping people meet and make new friends.
Jo Garrahy, elementary school principal, explained: “A general need for this type of communication between school and home just became apparent from chatting informally with parents.
“I would hate to think parents would only have an opportunity to meet with and hear from a principal when big public events or performances are on or when there is a problem. Parents at RVIS are equally great about bringing up the positive things happening, as they are to raise concerns.
“While the traditional Back-to-School Nights, Parent/Teacher Conference Days etc. help to communicate information about individual student progress, it was felt that parents also want a more informal opportunity to get together and meet with school leadership and other staff members.
“Too often parents receive ‘one-way’ communication with schools – you come and we will tell you how it is going to be! My belief is that if there are genuine concerns about programmes, or happenings in a school, I would prefer to know through an open, honest communication process where both the school and parents get to represent their views.”
It appears to be paying dividends for all concerned at the growing school which has only been established for eight years.
With more than 400 students, according to parents, RVIS – which was judged to be ‘outstanding’ by the Bahraini-accreditation authority, NAQQAET – has created a ‘family-type atmosphere’ which it treasures and they hope that initiatives such as Parent Shares will help it to continue to grow and improve.
Based on parent feedback from previous Parent Shares, or something significant happening in the school, a member of school staff will tomorrow make a brief five- to 10-minute presentation about an aspect parents would like to know more about.
Following that, an ‘open forum’ for questions and comments is provided for up to an hour. Some simple ‘norms’ are adopted to ensure all voices get heard. They don’t speak about anyone-else’s child and don’t single out individual teachers or staff members.
The topics raised at Parent Shares generally highlight topics needing clarification, review or that a number of parents have chatted about and wish to bring to a place where they will be heard and, where they know more often than not, some action will be taken.
For example, the school has many tech applications for parents to receive school information. The Parent Shares recently identified the need for more support and training in the use of these applications and the school is now currently in the process of developing parent workshops to address the issue.
The sessions are open to all elementary parents. When they turn up they find a room set up with lounge chairs, decorated with plants and candles. “We want parents to have a sense that they are not coming to yet another meeting but rather meeting to have a coffee with other like-minded people who have in common the best interest of our school,” explained Jo. “We do not want it to be – ‘You come, we will tell, and you will listen’. It is a flipped version where, ‘You come, we will listen and together we will make things better’.
“It is great though to see parents, often new to the school and Bahrain, exchanging telephone numbers and making plans to continue the chat after the meetings. It can be tough being a new parent in a school, so I am happy an unexpected bonus to the Parent Shares has been the opportunity for parents to meet others and in many cases form friendships.”
As for the short presentation part, parents know in advance what the topics will be. To date they have ranged from uniforms, technology, working with local ministry requirements, standards-based grading and reporting.
No matter where in the world, parents always show up if the conversation is about uniforms or homework!
* Tomorrow’s Parent Shares is scheduled for just after morning drop-off at 8.10am. The theme ‘Building an International Community at RVIS’ is particularly topical as RVIS has more than 40 different nationalities in its student body. Parents and staff members are looking for ways to further share cultures, learn about traditions, folklore plus food, and will pass on the findings with the wider school community.
