Have you ever planned a Parent Workshop and spent hours of planning only to have 3 or 4 parents attend? I have…. and it’s a bummer to invest all that energy and have a small turn out. During the pandemic, I discovered a great way to increase participation in parent workshops and post-pandemic it’s proven to be a keeper.
As a working mom, I know time is precious and in between carpools, errands, and general fatigue, it’s hard to fit in coming to the school for a learning opportunity. Hence why this “on demand” video format of delivering workshops has given the parents/guardians the flexibility to participate on their own time. The schools I’ve worked with have found an increase in the number of participants with very low prep. Below, you will see an overview of the format and feedback from schools who have used my workshops (some of them 3 years running!). Contact me if you want to set up a time to chat if you want more info. I keep the videos under 30 minutes… it’s enough time to give good insight without a huge time commitment. Lots of topics to pick from as seen here.
Below is an overview of how I deliver these workshops, but each school sets it up slightly differently.
- I send pre-recorded workshops to the point person at the school (typically the counselor, social worker, or family resource coordinator).
- The coordinator sends families a link to the workshop. The coordinator can also send a Google Form/Microsoft Form for feedback (and track who participated). Here is a sample survey.
- Some schools incentivize families to listen to the session by giving away a gift card or two. You can do a drawing from the names of people who fill out the form.
- Some schools have 2 or 3 videos available so that parents have a choice in topic.
- Some schools offer the families who participate a drive through meal pick up at the school. Here is a sample flyer one school used.
Contact me if you have any questions at all. You can totally create your own sessions with your expertise or get a local expert to help you out. I’m happy to talk about the formats that have gotten the best response and how to set it up. The best thing about this is seeing the participant surveys and reading feedback that say overwhelmingly that these workshops give practical ideas and also they make parents/guardians feel not so alone.