Recognizing Parents as Teaching Assistants: A Key Learning from the COVID-19 Pandemic

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Catherine V. Addor is the founder of Addor-ation Innovation Services LLC, providing curriculum innovation, professional development, educational leadership, gifted/enrichment and arts education, and educational technology expertise. This is a cross-post of her March 30th blog post with her permission. Thank you for letting us share your passion, Catherine! Contact her via email.

While this shift was born out of necessity, one of the most significant and lasting lessons from that time is recognizing parents’ strength in this role. The pandemic didn’t just highlight the importance of parent involvement, it redefined it. At the heart of this redefinition is a simple truth: parents are capable, creative, and deeply invested co-educators.

Beyond Homework Help: A New Role Emerges

Before the pandemic, many schools considered parent involvement as attending conferences, signing permission slips, or helping with the occasional science project. During the pandemic, however, parents were thrust into the day-to-day fabric of instruction, supporting reading, explaining math, managing schedules, and navigating learning platforms.

What emerged was not chaos (though there was plenty of that, too) but a quiet, powerful collaboration. Parents became translators of curriculum, emotional anchors during frustration, and champions of their children's progress. They adapted quickly, drawing on their deep knowledge of their children to support learning in ways even the best technology could not replicate.

The Strengths We Saw

Some of the key strengths that parents brought as teaching assistants during the pandemic included:

Personalization: Parents tailored learning to their child's needs, interests, and mood. Whether using a baking recipe to teach fractions or going on a nature walk to explore science, learning became more relevant and responsive.
Patience and Persistence: Many parents developed new skills to support their children’s learning, often while balancing work and caregiving responsibilities. Their resilience was a quiet engine that kept learning going.
Partnership Building: Parents and teachers developed new lines of communication. Emails, texts, and video calls became the norm, creating a stronger bridge between school and home.
Advocacy: With a front-row seat to their child’s education, parents became more vigorous advocates. They noticed gaps, asked questions, and collaborated with educators in ways that built trust and transparency.

Carrying the Learning Forward

As we move beyond the emergency phase of the pandemic, we mustn’t forget what we learned: parent engagement is more than involvement; it's a partnership. And parents, when supported, are powerful teaching assistants who can enrich the learning process.

This means schools must continue to:

Honor parents’ insights into their child’s learning style and needs.
Create accessible opportunities for families to contribute to instruction—even in small, meaningful ways.
Offer ongoing support and resources that empower families to engage without feeling overwhelmed or underprepared.
Include parent voices in conversations about curriculum, instruction, and student support.

A Shift Worth Keeping

The pandemic revealed something we can’t unsee: when parents and schools work together as co-educators, children benefit in powerful ways. Recognizing parents' strengths as teaching assistants isn’t just a reflection on the past, it’s a blueprint for the future of education.

Let’s not return to “normal.” Let’s move forward with a new appreciation for the families behind every student, and the rich, collaborative potential they bring to our classrooms.

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