Working with parents

In your work, be very mindful of the parents. The school (or the educational establishment in question) is the children and the teachers and the families of the children, in a unity of intentions, effort and sacrifice. This is one of the reasons why, in schools that are not further or higher education establishments, and in general if the pupils are very young, we will never have boarding schools. Children should be with their parents; there will be residential establishments only for older students, and they will have their doors wide open.

We seek to do good first of all to the students’ families, then to the students who are being educated there, and to those who work with us in their education; and we ourselves are also being formed as we form others. Parents are the first and the main educators,¹⁶ and they must come to see the school, college, etc. as an extension of their family. To this end, we must stay in constant contact with them, and bring them the warmth and light of our Christian work. Keep in mind, moreover, that otherwise, through carelessness, lack of formation, or some other reason, they could easily destroy all the work that the teachers do with the students.