Donna Russell is what you would call a helicopter parent. When the 65-year-old grandmother's own children were growing up back in the day, she did everything to participate in their respective schooling.
According to Very Well Family, helicopter parents are people who pay extremely close attention to their children's activities and schoolwork to not only protect them from disappointment and pain but to help them succeed.
Now that Russell has custody of her three grandchildren, she wishes she could be the same PTA mother involved in school activities decades ago. The problem for Russell is that her finances are limited now, with the family living on food stamps, Social Security benefits, and payments from the children's father.
Helicopter parents given a front-row seat to daily classroom life
However, she has found other ways to get involved with her grandchildren's schooling over the past school year, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic. Russell spent a chunk of her time every day helping her 4-year-old granddaughter Maleigha learn numbers and letters on the computer through Waterford Upstart, a program developed to help young kids prepare for kindergarten.
All around the United States, the COVID pandemic has turned parents' relationships with their children's schools upside-down, hindering their ability to connect substantially with the teachers and the other students' families.
That being said, there was an added benefit for helicopter parents when learning transitioned to online during the pandemic as they were given a front-row seat to the daily classroom life of their children. Because of the coronavirus, helicopter parents were provided a unique opportunity to participate in their children's education.
Things are going back to normal, though, with schools set to resume face-to-face classes soon. It is paramount for schools to sustain the momentum of newfound relationships with their students' parents and keep them involved with their children's schooling.
According to a survey conducted by the National Parents Union, nearly 2 in 3 parents of school-aged kids became more engaged than ever before in their children's learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Around 8 in 10 respondents said that the COVID pandemic opened their eyes to the inner workings of schools in America.
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Family involvement plays key role in student's academic achievement
Studies show that family involvement plays an important role in the academic achievement of a student. Some research even suggested that parent involvement is one of the greatest predictors of success for a student. According to the research, the benefits of such family support are even more pronounced for low-income children.
Jenni Torres, who oversees the curriculum at Waterford.org, the nonprofit organization behind the kindergarten-prep program that Russell used at home with her grandchild, told USA Today that when a child knows their parent has prioritized school, the kid learns and gets the sense that it is an important place to be.
With unprecedented access to classrooms, helicopter parents found it difficult not to hover over every aspect of their children's learning while at home. The COVID pandemic has shown that helicopter parenting is just one type of family engagement, and there are other ways to influence their kids' learning.
