School Orientation and Open House

School Orientation and Open House events serve as structured outreach programs that facilitate connections among schools, parents, and students. These gatherings are designed to foster relationships, enhance communication, and support student transitions at various educational levels. Typically held outside regular school hours, they create opportunities for parents and students to familiarize themselves with the school environment, staff, and educational expectations. Historically, these events have addressed various needs, from easing anxiety about new school settings to promoting community engagement in education.

Open houses and orientations allow for interactive experiences that enhance parental involvement, which is crucial for children's academic and behavioral success. They often include guided tours, workshops, and social activities designed to encourage participation and strengthen family-school relationships. Despite their benefits, challenges exist, such as declining parental attendance, which may affect the overall effectiveness of these events. In summary, school orientations and open houses play a key role in bridging the gap between home and school, ultimately contributing to a supportive educational atmosphere for students and families.

Published in: 2021

By: Merritt, R. D.

Subject Terms

School Orientation and Open House

Abstract

Open houses and orientations are structured programs of school, parent, and student outreach. As school-initiated, school site-based events, open houses and orientations aid in developing and sustaining cohesive relationships, commitments, coherent approaches and capacities for school improvement. The purposes of open houses and orientations, which are summarized in this article, are broad-based. Open houses and orientations are vital, visible components of school-community linkages, and they serve as effective means of school-parent communication. The purpose of some open houses and orientations is to assist students in adjusting and transitioning from one grade or school level to the next. Research has shown that parental attendance, involvement, and participation in school open houses and orientations are essential in helping children attain optimal success in school academically and behaviorally.

Overview

Open houses and orientations have existed as long as there have been schools. There has always been a need for schools to help parents and students cope with new, confusing, and anxiety-producing situations. In the 1950s, for example, US schools used open houses and orientations to provide parents and schoolchildren with the fundamentals of civil-defense training. Schools typically hold a series of open houses and orientations throughout the school year. They are normally conducted outside regular school hours.

The programs and activities associated with open houses and orientations require careful planning, organization, preparation, publicity, and follow-up. Open houses and orientations aim to increase public, community, and family awareness, as well as understanding and appreciation of education. Parental choice and involvement—factors over which educators have little control—play important roles in the success of open houses and orientations. These school-initiated, school site-based structured programs of school, parent and student outreach are strategies to engage parents and their schoolchildren. They are often lively events of unique character that range from "kindergarten roundups" to high-school orientations (Lindeman & Sopko, 2006; National Education Association, 1973).

Open houses and orientation programs are variously referred to as

School open houses
Student open houses
Special open houses
Open houses for parents
Parent nights
Parent visitations or visits
Parent visiting days or nights
Parent orientations
Student orientations
Special orientations
Orientation days
Orientation nights or evenings

Other similarly named events include back-to-school nights, "meet-the-teacher" days and nights, and "show-and-tell" parent nights.

Schools may hold a series of open houses or orientations at the beginning of, and then throughout, the school year. Some are routinely scheduled in August before classes begin. Programs for students transitioning from one grade to the next, or from one school level to the next, may be held during days or evenings. Activities are normally, but not always, scheduled and conducted outside regular school hours, for example, before-school or after-school open houses or orientations (Zadeh, 1993).

These types of school programs are visible to the community and are key components of school-community linkages. This approach involves community members as well as students, teachers, and parents. School-community relations depend on good communication and school open houses and orientations are effective means of school-parent communication. Advisory open houses and orientations addressing specific subjects bring parents to schools to receive vital information concerning their children's education (Bobango, 1994; Reddick & Peach, 1987).

Parents visit their child's school during this time to attend scheduled events. Open houses and orientations illustrate the influence of home—parents and families—in children's learning and achievement in school, creating a link between parents and schools. Parents may also attend individually scheduled parent-teacher conferences or become involved as members of the local Parent and Teacher Association or PTA (Dubble, 1995; Lindeman & Sopko, 2006).

History. In the 1950s, US schools used open houses and orientations to provide parents and school children with the fundamentals of civil-defense training. This is one example which shows that there has always been a need for schools to help students and parents cope with new, confusing, and anxiety-producing situations. Open houses and orientations are traditional means that schools have used to update and inform parents, especially during unsettling transitional periods for students, such as when they are leaving one student body and entering a new and different student body. Open-house/orientation activities help to correct misconceptions of new students as they become members of a different student body. For example, effective high-school orientation programs, based on social-psychological principles, were recognized in the 1950s as ways to reduce the conflict and insecurity resulting from changing group memberships of beginning freshmen (Gleason, 1957; Meek, 1957; Smith & Josse, 1957).

Open houses and orientations were used in the 1970s to increase parental and public understanding of schools, and to secure civic and community support for programs and measures to improve schools. In an era when there was public skepticism and concern as to what schools were teaching kids, open houses and orientations were held to encourage parents to visit their children's schools and to let the general public know what schoolchildren were learning (Clary, 1978; National Education Association, 1975).

Despite the assistance that open houses and orientations provide, they have historically had to battle for parental attendance. Whether in 1970s-era schools or turn-of-the-21st-century schools, there have been recurrent news articles and widespread reports of declining parent involvement and generally small attendance at many open houses and orientations (Decker & Majerczyk, 2000; Elam, 1974).

Applications

Public Relations. Open houses and orientations publicize, sell, and market school programs. As a marketing strategy, they attract students and help to maintain and increase enrollment (Hackensack Public Schools, 1973; National Education Association, 1973).

Open houses and orientations garner successful and meaningful community involvement in the schools. They encourage and strengthen school-community cooperation, acquaint the community with its schools, and collaboratively involve the community in schools, serving to help schools accomplish public-relations goals and create positive public images. They demonstrate that schools are there to serve the public and the community (Berne, 1973; Elam, 1974; National Education Association, 1973).

Family-School Relations. Another important goal is to promote students' belonging and connectedness to school. There is a general desire to enhance and strengthen child-school and family-school connections. Open houses and orientations help to break down barriers between educators and parents and students. A related goal is to encourage the creation of family-friendly schools and classrooms and to maintain an open-door policy for parents and families (Akos, Creamer, & Masina, 2004; Cahoy & Bichel, 2004; Decker & Majerczyk, 2000; University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, 1999).

Schools have the primary responsibility of encouraging good parent-school relations. Open houses and orientations are among a variety of activities that can be used to build and nurture parent and student relationships with schools. They promote the inclusion of parents and students, get parents to be active, and encourage discussions and networking among parents. They help to accommodate and meet the special needs of parents, students, and families, and improve parent and student attitudes toward school (Aronson, 1995; Kraus, 1993; Oregon State Department of Education, 1990).

Open houses and orientations keep parents informed and provide first-hand information about expected school entry skills their children should possess. Schools use the occasions as opportunities to make known achievements, problems, and needs; to explain school program; and to answer questions from students and parents. They provide directions, information, and help to new students, and advise and instruct them on dealing with changes. Students learn about school and teacher policies and are familiarized with appropriate school-related behaviors (Borgen, 1978; Huey, 1985; National Education Association, 1973).

Reducing Transition Anxiety. Pre-enrollment open houses and orientations help to reduce adjustment anxiety of students and parents related to transitions to the next school or grade level (Kauffman & Kavinsky, 1980). They can provide personalized and individualized assistance to entering students (e.g., high-school freshmen) to help them in making social and academic adjustments to a new school. They improve articulation of transitioning students to schools at different levels, such as orienting elementary students to middle school and middle-school students to junior high and high school. They prepare beginning students for the experiences awaiting them in a new school, get them off on the right track, and give them initial positive encounters (Akos, Creamer, & Masina, 2004; Borgen, 1978; Higgins, 1993; Kelly, 1985; Wade, 1986).

These events give students, parents, and families an opportunity to familiarize themselves with a new school. They can get a first-hand look through a guided tour, study the physical layout, facilities, and environs. Some schools offer regularly scheduled small-group tours to observe classes while they are in session. Parents and families can visit and observe classrooms prior to beginning school. They can examine their children's school-learning experiences, respond to classroom activities and to student work (Blasor, 2003; Decker & Majerczyk, 2000; Grambo, 1995). Parents and students can also meet the schools' administrative team, including the principal, assistant principals, deans, counselors, and social workers (Decker & Majerczyk, 2000).

Programs & Activities Planning. Open houses and orientations involve structured, well-planned school visits using a family-friendly, high-touch approach. Successful events are informative, thorough, and entertaining (Cahoy & Bichel, 2004). Some schools schedule several open-house and orientation visits in the spring and the fall. Scheduling daytime or evening open houses and orientations at the actual beginning of the academic school year is opportune as a key time to communicate with parents. Other schools hold open houses, orientations, and other visitations at the end of instructional cycles—most typically in October, December, March, and June (Fisher, 1993).

Open houses and orientations require careful planning, organization, preparation, publicity, and follow-up activities. A plan for informing the public is important to the success of school visitation programs. Schools can work with local media outlets on getting the word out—news releases, radio and television spots, and public-service announcements. Mailings to home and businesses can also be used to inform parents and the community about open houses and orientations (Huckabee, 1982; Hulbert, 1997; National Education Association, 1973).

The development of a program of events and an agenda of meaningful student-adult activities are required. The agenda may include a variety of techniques and activities to encourage the active participation of parents and families (Decker & Majerczyk, 2000; Meek, 1957; National Education Association, 1973; Wojcik, 1994). Informational workshops for parents may help to overcome the resistance to parental visitations (Elam, 1974). At some events, parents may attend school for an entire day with their children (Hulbert, 1997).

The principal, school-community coordinator, faculty and/or staff may host school open houses and orientations and personally welcome parents, families, and other visitors to the school, as a high level of staff visibility is typically desired. Peer facilitators, such as upper-class student volunteers, may be used to help acclimate new students at high-school open houses and orientations (Scott, 1984).

Teachers may conduct interviews with parents and other family members following a strict timetable. Additional appointments for interviews outside the open-house and orientation program can be scheduled as necessary. In certain instances, school orientations are conducted individually, particularly for members of special student populations (Bennett, 2006; Zadeh, 1993).

Communication Methods. Schools use displays, exhibits, posters, bulletin boards, white boards, and photo displays to communicate information at open houses and orientations. Video presentations, slide shows, and multimedia are also sometimes used. Informational pamphlets and promotional material may be passed out as well (Huckabee, 1982; Medeiros, 2002). Themes, decorations, and fun activities for "newcomers" or new arrivals may be used, or demonstrations may be conducted (Cahoy & Bichel, 2004; Huey, 1985). At some open houses and orientations, hands-on math manipulatives and science experiments may be set up at activity centers or learning stations. Students may share stories to develop a continuing interest in reading at home. In some cases, especially at upper grade levels, students may teach workshops for parents in activities such as weaving, art, or painting. At special "game nights," parents and kids can develop games to take and use at home. Family movie nights may also be on the program and scheduled for certain occasions (Akaran & Fields, 1997; Wojcik, 1994; Yunghans, 1983).

Guides and student ambassadors lead tours of school buildings, classrooms, facilities, and campus grounds. Snacks and refreshments served at open houses and orientations can be interwoven with an educational activity that involves learning about simple nutritious snacks. Informal dinners can also be held in conjunction with school open houses, orientations, and back-to-school nights (University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, 1999; Wojcik, 1994).

Viewpoints

Advantages. Among the rewards of the successful use of the strategies of open houses and orientations are that they generally benefit teachers, parents, and students. They provide school-involvement opportunities that may better meet parents' personal needs and schedules. During open houses and orientations, participants can make person-to-person contacts with many individuals. Open houses and orientations increase awareness of current school programs and improve public understanding and appreciation of education. They constitute methods and activities that can enrich student-teacher relationships and enhance students' sense of belonging and self-worth (Decker & Majerczyk, 2000; Kraus, 1993; National Education Association, 1973).

Disadvantages. Parental choice plays an important role in the success of school open houses and orientations. Although their success depends on parent involvement, school partnerships with parents and families are difficult to establish and maintain. Schools must overcome existent barriers to parental involvement and resistance to parental visitation (Barclay & Boone, 1996; Berne, 1973; Dubble, 1995).

Also, a challenge to the use of open houses and orientations as strategies are the associated costs and expenses that can be accrued.

Research. Open houses and orientations aid in developing cohesive relationships and commitments to schools, which in turn enable schools to develop and sustain coherent approaches for school improvement (Herbert & Hatch, 2001). The communication of teachers with parents significantly affects public opinion regarding schools (Reddick & Peach, 1987).

Open houses and orientations facilitate student adjustment—adjustment to different schools, levels, grades, and classes. Schools with three or more transition practices or programs have significantly lower attrition and dropout rates (Hertzog & Morgan, 1999).

Research has demonstrated that parent attitudes and behavior influence their children's school achievement (Oregon State Department of Education, 1990). Parental involvement in their children's education through a variety of ways, including open houses and orientations, assist their children in achieving maximum educational growth. Parental involvement is essential in helping children to attain optimal success in school both academically and behaviorally (Akimoff, 1996).

The attendance of parents at open houses and orientations in public schools affects teachers' evaluations of students' ability and effort. However, parents' attendance and involvement apparently have more of an effect in public schools than they do in Catholic schools, and presumably other types of private schools as well, but are nevertheless important factors that need to be included in related educational research studies (Dumais, 2005).

Schools with fewer students have greater parental attendance and involvement at open houses and orientations than larger schools (LRP Publications, 2005). Parental attendance and participation at open houses and orientations are greater in schools with lower proportions of low-income and minority families (Rathbun & Hausken, 2001).

Although parental interest remains high during schoolchildren's secondary-school years, their actual participation is quite often reduced (Gotts & Purnell, 1985). Shirley et al. (2006) report that the use of one parental engagement strategy increased parental participation in an urban high school's Fall Parent Night by almost 60 percent. Thus, it is clear that efforts of schools to increase and maintain parental attendance, involvement, and participation in open houses and orientations can ultimately reap rewards and benefits far beyond actual investments of related time, energy, and resources.

Terms & Concepts

Adjustment Anxiety: Uncertainty, uneasiness, worry, apprehension, fear, or mental distress of a parent or student about an upcoming or future transition to a new or different school, level, grade, class, or other educational progression, movement, or change.

Adjustments: Personal adaptations and acclimations of students to new or different schools, levels, grades, or classes based on psychological conflicts and insecurities resulting from changing group memberships.

Articulation: Formal process, practice, or program in place to facilitate and assist students in making effective transitions, adjustments, adaptations, or passages from one school, level, or grade to another.

High-Touch Approach: Affective, empathetic technique or manner of dealing with people that involves lavish hands-on personal contact, kind and thoughtful treatment, finesse, keen discernment, perceptive understanding, and adroit communication.

Instructional Cycles: Regularly repeating academic periods or sequences of educational events based on a school's calendar and schedule with distinct, demarcated beginnings and endings; for example, six-week grading periods or eight-week units of study.

Open-Door Policy: Formal written and/or verbal directive of a school inviting and granting access to community members, parents, families, and students so as to foster good public relations, encourage communication and information-sharing, and garner involvement and participation in educational programs and activities.

Open Houses: See also orientations; public, community, and family events or occasions at a school in which invited guests are allowed to visit, observe, become involved, and participate in education-related endeavors; the purposes, goals, and objectives are broad-based and multitudinous, and the associated programs, practices, and activities are varied.

Orientations: See also open houses; similar types of events or occasions as open houses but which sometimes connote slightly more directed goals and objectives related to student and/or parent adjustment and transition to new schools, levels, grades, programs, practices, activities, situations, or other educational changes.

Outreach: Any formal effort, process, program, or practice of a school to seek out and invite the attendance, involvement, and participation of the general public, community members, parents, families, and/or students.

Parental Involvement: The attendance and participation of the parent(s) of a student(s) at a school function or event such as an open house or orientation.

Parental Visitation: An appearance of a student's parents as guests at school, typically by formal request or invitation, to preview or review programs and educational activities, receive information and/or advice, assist in their child's adjustment or transition, or for any of a number of similar or related purposes; for example, the trip of a parent to school for an open house or orientation.

School-Visitation Programs: Formal public, community, or family outreach efforts of schools to bring in invited guests to attend, become involved in, and participate in education-related activities; examples are open houses and orientations.

Transitions: Processes of change related to students' promotion, progression, advancement, graduation, or movement to a new or different school, level, grade, class, or other similar temporary passage.

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School Orientation and Open House

On this Page

Subject Terms

School Orientation and Open House

Abstract

Overview

Applications

Viewpoints

Terms & Concepts

Bibliography

Suggested Reading