Professional Portfolio Artifact(s) Reflections Cover Sheet PLO: Develop and implement strategies that promote partnerships between

programs, teachers, families, and their communities. The Artifacts I have included to demonstrate my competence in PLO 4 include: Samples of family communication o o Child Progress Report (DRDP for parents) (CHDV 160) Parent Letter (CHDV 150, rewritten in CHDV 210)

I. Explanation: How is the content of these artifacts used to demonstrate my competence in this PLO and what specific knowledge, skills, or belief systems are demonstrated?
The child progress report is a necessary artifact in this section of my portfolio because it

shows I have the knowledge to fill out the form that teachers fill out in order to share the DRDPs results with the parents of the children. I know how to word things in order to not sound so rude to parents. I used these skills to actually fill out the form. I worded my sentences in a way that I didnt just come out and say things like: your child has no manners, that wouldve offended any parent. Instead, I did in a more positive way and told the parent that we were working on helping him improve his social skills. I believe that it is very important that we keep recent records of all of the children so that when we have parent conferences, we should know exactly what to tell them and it must be complete honesty. I also believe that it is important that we keep a positive relationship with all of the parents, that is why I was so careful with my wording.
The parent letter I wrote for my thematic unit shows the basic knowledge I had when I

took my CHDV 150 class. I knew how put together a basic parent letter. I knew that I had to pick a topic that was relevant to all of the children. In order to not have any children feel left out. I used the skills that I had acquired in all of my previous courses in order to actually put together my first parent letter together. The skills that I used were to make the letter parent-friendly. I explained to them why I chose the theme and I included everyone. I also gave them an overview of what was going to be going on in class. I gave them an overview because I believe that parents want and have the right to know what to expect. I also believe that the theme should be inclusive to every child in the class. II. Growth: How do these artifacts demonstrate my growth in knowledge and skill?
Child Progress Report

As I re-read the progress report, now that I am in CHDV 210, there were obvious corrections that I had to make. My knowledge in how to speak to parents has changed. I now know that when speaking to parents, you have to be direct, yet, not too firm. I used the skills that I have learned in the classroom to change a few of the words in my old assignment. For example, I realized that I kept using the child instead of the childs actual name. I still believe that at parent conferences, there should be complete honesty. The teachers should give the parents factual information about their child in a respectful manner. I also believe that there should be positive relationship there for the parent conference to achieve the highest level it possibly can.
Parent Letter

The parent letter that I rewrote in my CHDV 210 is more realistic, since I actually had the chance to hand it out to parents of the preschool center. I have more knowledge in how to write parent letter. Short, sweet, and to the point. I used the skills that I have learned about how to communicate with parents in order to put together my second parent letter. In this letter I introduced myself, introduced my theme, talked about why I chose it and then closed it off. I didnt make it too difficult or too short. In order to grab the parents attention and not to bore them while giving them an overview of what they could expect for the week. My beliefs about parent letters have not changed but have only been reinforced. Parents should be able to have an idea of what is going on in their chidrens classroom. Sometimes they even have more to add to the experience. III. Application: How am I going to build on the knowledge and skill that is demonstrated (In other words, what are your next steps?) and how will this knowledge, skill, or belief system be integrated into my future teaching practice.
I am going to build on my Child Progress Reports by continually doing them. It is also

every important that I keep updated with the DRDPs, in order for me to be able to remember and know what to put on the progress report form. I will also attend any workshops that may help with how to effectively talk to parents during conferences. Because I believe that communication with parents is very important, I will make sure to be respectful to every parent.
I will do parent letters very often in my class, in order to keep my mind fresh on how to

do them. I will also attend any conferences that are made to give strategies to teachers about how to effectively communicate with parents. I will also try to keep the parents updated so that they feel like they are part of the class as well. Lastly, I will write positive parent letters, usually we send parent letters when there is something bad going one, but I will send home parent letters with positive information to keep the communication with my parents going.