In this presentation, we feature Jason Oller, Co-Principal at Hammond Westside Montessori School in the Tangipahoa Parish School System and Hilary Davenport, Montessori Magnet Specialist at Hammond Westside Montessori School.

For most schools, family engagement is an afterthought, and sometimes nothing more than lip service. The secret truth is, many schools don’t really want family engagement – or if they do, they want it kept at arm’s length so as not to interfere with the game plan. At Hammond Westside Montessori School, they have a different belief system. They believe in the beneficial power of the involved family, both for the learner and for the family members.

According to Jason Oller, “I hardly ever dress this way. I'm usually in khakis and a school polo and comfortable shoes. Because, if it's under the roof of our building, our parents feel more comfortable in coming to sit down and talk with me dressed when I'm dressed more casually and look like them to help breach that gap. And through that relationship building I've had with them, we've had no issues, thankfully. I'm not saying that they won't ever happen, but as of right now, they understand through this process that our school really is a part of our community and a part of our family. I would always volunteer; I'll go out to the houses, you know, I'm fluffy and I do like to eat. And so our parents always know, oh, Mr. O’s coming over and so I'll have something for him. And so, I eat and visit with our kids and learn with them and teach the family how to access our materials. It’s a lot of work. Absolutely. But once you forge your way through the muck and the mud, it becomes a little bit easier because then you're just tweaking it a little bit as you go along the initial work.

“One of the big things that we knew that we needed was more refinement and more differentiated instruction for our teachers,” said Oller, “and how to refine their craft, because once they started watching themselves on those swivel videos and they're like, ‘Oh, I didn't realize I did that. So that reflective process of going through and reporting themselves and watching it before they housed the finished product, it was really awesome for the development of our teachers, but also giving our families a good product for them to be able to access services at home as well.”

“It amazes me,” said Oller, “the number of employers that are crying, that they don't have employees, but don't even give their employees a break to be able to go see what's wrong with their children or to experience their children. And so, through this, you'll see families tucked away and we'll tell them what time their grade level's coming on and participating. And they see their child get that award and they're able to keep working. So that's, what's great for us. We give away tickets to our athletic events and this, that, and the other. If parents want to be involved at my school, I encourage them. And money's never an issue as for them to be involved with their children.”

Hammond Westside consistently works to engage families as part of the educational experience. According to Hilary Davenport, “We have virtual ceremonies, awards, ceremonies for academic awards, behavioral awards, things like that. We have tried to change our mindset to everything that we do. If it is a kindergarten Mardi Gras parade, we have a zoom link available and give access to all those families.”