The Parent Helper Role
Being a Parent Helper is a rewarding chance to learn about — and contribute to — your child’s early educational experiences.
Parents look forward to their Parent Helper days as a unique opportunity to spend time in the classroom and be part of their child’s day, help them in their activities, and meet their friends. Our parents often report that their Parent Helper days make them better parents at home. And children love it when their parent comes to school with them. It’s a true gift for both.
As one IPCP parent put it, “I love that I get to know the teachers and the other parents. They aren’t just people I see briefly during pickup and drop-off. It’s not transactional; it’s a real community.”
The Parent Helper has three major responsibilities:
Providing support for the teachers and the daily activities happening in the assigned classrooms. This includes classroom set-up, child supervision, assisting in the classroom, and performing basic cleaning and maintenance tasks.
Being with your child and sharing in his/her school experience. At first, your child will probably consider you their personal teacher for the day and may demand your exclusive attention. Gradually, your child will come to understand that, just as you have other responsibilities at home, some of your time at school will be spent in other classrooms and with other duties.
Providing enough snacks to feed the classes (teachers included) with whom you will be working. As a community, we agree to provide our children with healthy, nutritious snacks. The only exception to this responsibility is in the Toddler 1 classroom, where Parent Helpers do not provide snacks for the class.
