Dear Bridget -- Product Usage Bulletin for Choices Planner

April 2009

Dear Bridget,

I am happy that many parents have asked me about their kids' activities in Choices Planner. I would like to build on this interest and increase parental involvement in the career-planning process.

What's the best way to take Choices Planner from the classroom to the home?

Sincerely,

A.T. Holme

Dear A.T.,

Any parent who has ever found an old notice crumpled beside a moldy sandwich at the bottom of a backpack will appreciate the easy portability of Choices Planner. As you know, students can access our fabulous planning tools any time, anywhere, so it's easy for them to show parents what they're doing.

But we all know that just because students can do something doesn't necessarily mean that they will do it. That's why increasing parental involvement is much easier when you have the right tools.

You can start by sending Choices Planner's Quick Reference Guide or an Access Reference Card home with every student, so they will remember their portfolio name and password. These resources are found on the Choices Planner: Resource Materials page.

You should also download the parent letter from that same page. The parent letter can be easily customized, so you can point parents to some great tools to help them get the most out of using Choices Planner with their children.

For example, in Choices Planner's Professional Tools section, parents can access the Resources section without a professional account. In the Resources section, they will find a link to even more Parent Resources.

The Parent section of the Bridges portal has some links to great articles on helping children with college preparation and career planning.

If you're really feeling motivated, you might want to consider hosting a few parent involvement seminars at your school. The Parental Involvement Kit can be downloaded from our Resources page.

It's only April, but summer will be here before we know it (although that still might seem like a distant dream in some parts of the country). Now is a great time to start introducing parents to Choices Planner so they can keep students connected over the summer.

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