A few weeks before school starts, you will be contacted by your class coordinators and be asked to fill out forms on your aiding preferences and availability. You will also be asked to fill out preferences regarding classroom jobs. Your class coordinators then put together the aiding schedule for the year and assign classroom jobs. Class coordinators do their best to meet each families scheduling needs, within the curriculum parameters set by the teacher.
McAuliffe teachers plan the day’s activities and together with the classroom Instructional Assistants (IAs), they provide guidance on what you need to do during your aiding slot. The teachers and IAs are available to answer questions and provide support when needed. Veteran parents, parents who have been at McAuliffe a number of years, are also part of your class community and act as additional mentors; veteran parents often aid alongside you and can help out as well.
In the McAuliffe Aid Training (MAT) program, parents are trained how to be effective classroom aides and learn the skills, techniques, and language used with children at McAuliffe. Just like the kids, we learn by doing and gain confidence with practice and experience. So the longer you aid at McAuliffe, the more comfortable you will become working with children.
Many parents at McAuliffe work full-time or part-time. To be successful, at least one parent often needs to have a flexible schedule that allows them to commit to a consistent aiding time each week. Families with two full-time working parents often share the aiding responsibility and split the aiding hours, both working in the classroom each week; they may also take turns driving on field trips. Field trip dates are announced in advance so working parents can make necessary arrangements. Ultimately, families who value the McAuliffe program come up with an arrangement that works for their family because they make their commitment to the McAuliffe program and community a priority.
In a few instances, a relative or caregiver aids in the classroom on behalf of the child’s parents. However, McAuliffe is a PARENT PARTICIPATION program and any person who aids on behalf of your family must get teacher approval, complete McAuliffe Aid Training (MAT), and function as your family representative while at school. Because of this, he or she must really want to be here! Being a parent aide is an important and vital role to our kids and the McAuliffe program.
Students at McAuliffe go on many field trips throughout the school year. With over 40 years of experience, McAuliffe has developed a safe and organized system for these field trips. Both parent chaperones and children are required to follow specific agreements (guidelines) while on fieldtrips.
McAuliffe classes often go on an average of 10 field trips throughout the year. Some field trips will be 2-3 hours, while others will be all day. As children grow, the length and scope of the field trips increase. Once children are in 3rd grade, they begin to have overnight field trips. With many different areas of planning, preparation, and implementation, overnight field trips require the support of ALL families in the class to be successful.
Parents are needed to DRIVE, SUPERVISE, AND PARTICIPATE on field trips. If a parent is uncomfortable driving or cannot drive, parents may volunteer to be co-pilots and support another parent driver. Co-pilots are usually needed for all-day field trips or field trips with a long driving distance.
