Engaging Parents for Lifelong Success: Insights from Dr. Chelsea Petree

Empowering Relationships Beyond Family Weekend

In this episode of the Orientation Matters podcast, host David Morales sits down with Dr. Chelsea Petree from the Rochester Institute of Technology to discuss innovative ways to extend parent engagement beyond typical events, addressing how parents can play a critical role in their children's college experience and overall success. Dr. Petree’s expertise brings fresh ideas on how institutions can maintain and deepen connections with families throughout the student lifecycle.

Beyond Events: Diverse Strategies for Engagement

Creating meaningful engagement requires more than just hosting events, as Dr. Petree explains. Key strategies include creating monthly polls to capture parents' interests and concerns, along with supplying a community cookbook to foster togetherness. The importance of harnessing social media, particularly Facebook, was also highlighted. Yet, engaging in the choppy waters of unofficial social media groups remains a challenge.

The Power of Personalized Communication

Dr. Petree emphasizes the effectiveness of using a monthly newsletter to proactively communicate with parents. This approach ensures that families stay updated on campus resources and receive timely reminders, maximizing their kids' college experiences. This open channel of communication is particularly crucial as students progress through different stages of their education.

Understanding the Sophomore Slump

Dr. Petree conducted a revealing survey in 2017 that showed a drop in resource familiarity among second-year students and their families. To combat this issue, she implemented a print newsletter tailored specifically for sophomore parents, enriching their engagement with pertinent information.

Suggestions for Continuous and Diverse Engagement

Dr. Petree suggests that continued interaction can be maintained through more than just digital communications. For example, integrating printed materials and conversation starter cards can create invaluable touchpoints. Recommending relevant books can also provide parents with additional support tools to guide their students through transitions.

Lifecycle Management: From Onboarding to Offboarding

As discussed by David Morales, VisualZen aims to engage not only through onboarding but also throughout the student lifecycle, including the critical phase of offboarding. This means engaging parents and supporters in preparing students for life beyond college. Morales and Dr. Petree delve deeply into the need for incorporating alumni and collaborators in providing resources and insights during offboarding, cementing lifelong relationships with the institution.

Collaborating with Orientation Leaders (OLs)

Effective engagement also requires empowering front-line communicators such as orientation leaders (OLs). Dr. Petree promotes training OLs to engage families actively, to ensure that students develop a strong sense of belonging right from the start. This addresses the nuanced need for students to communicate more openly with their parents.

Sophomore Struggles: A Multifaceted Discussion

Dr. Petree details various issues that arise particularly during students’ sophomore year, such as navigating landlord negotiations, managing transportation, and cooking independently. This year is often marked by shifting friendships and evolving family dynamics, all of which require nuanced parental support.

Mental Health and Career Readiness

Revisiting mental health is pivotal, asserts Dr. Petree. She underscores that families need constant reminders and updates on mental health resources available on campus. Equally crucial is career readiness; preparing students for co-op opportunities, resumes, and job interviews should be a joint effort between institutions and parents.

Books, Balance, and Boundaries

Towards the end of the conversation, Dr. Petree shares her affinity for reading and self-care, noting the importance of setting personal and professional boundaries. She touches upon her love for literature, expressing excitement about reading both fiction and educational books, like "The Booth Girls," which deeply resonates with her social science background and connects to her personal history.

Commitment to Family Engagement and Literature

Dr. Petree has co-authored several books designed to guide parents through various stages of their child's educational journey. "College Ready," translated into Spanish, helps parents prepare students for college, while "Post College Ready" aids in navigating post-graduation transitions. They are currently working on "College Sophomore Ready" to elucidate sophomore-year issues, underlining the significance of continuous family involvement.

Dr. Petree concludes by emphasizing the inherent role of parents in their children’s lives, even as they transition into adulthood. By adopting these innovative approaches and recognizing the need for continued, meaningful interaction, institutions can significantly influence not only student success but also family satisfaction and long-term loyalty. Through platforms like VisualZen , the future of parent and supporter engagement can indeed extend beyond the conventional into a comprehensive, life-long partnership.