As an educator, I know firsthand the incredible impact of open communication between teachers and parents on a child’s educational journey. Open communication forms the foundation of a collaborative team between parents and teachers to support children academically, mentally, emotionally, and socially. In this blog post, I’ll guide you through four simple steps that I use in my classroom to help establish and maintain exceptional parent communication throughout the school year.
Step 1: Invite Parents to Share Information about Their Children
At the beginning of the school year, I intentionally get to know every child and family on a personal level. I like to extend an invitation to parents to submit a parent survey, which allows me to gain valuable insights about each student’s strengths, backgrounds, interests, and needs. This information helps me tailor my teaching approach to fit my unique group of students. When I first started teaching, I had parents fill out the Parent Survey with paper and pencil; however, to streamline the process for both me and my students’ families, I now use digital back-to-school forms. Now I can fill all the information I need, no matter where I am!
Step 2: Provide Clear Channels of Communication at the Beginning of the Year
Not only do I attempt to be as approachable and friendly as possible with students’ families so that they feel comfortable communicating with me regularly, but I also try to emphasize that families can reach out to me at any time. I want to assure parents that their opinions and concerns matter. I encourage parents to reach out regularly through their preferred communication methods, whether it’s email, phone calls, or scheduled conferences. And to make it even more convenient, I provide a teacher contact card that includes my contact information and a magnet on the back of the card. This way, parents can save my contact information on the fridge and feel comfortable reaching out whenever they have a question, comment, or concern.
Step 3: Establish Weekly Newsletters or Emails
Wouldn’t it be awesome if students came home after school and shared all the fun learning activities they participated in?! Unfortunately, that’s just not the reality. For the first few years of teaching, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard, “Good!” when parents have asked their children how their day was or, “I don’t remember,” when parents asked what they did or learned that day. I knew there was something I could do to help parents feel more informed, so I started sending weekly email newsletters to let parents know what’s going on! Yes, I will admit it does take a little bit of time to put an email newsletter together on a weekly basis, but I will tell you that the work pays off. Parents are SO thankful for the communication and it really helped to establish open communication all year long! Last year I started calling my email newsletters, my “Snapshot” emails, and it includes a friendly note about the week, upcoming school and grade-level events, highlights of what students learned, and important links or resources they might find useful. By sharing this regular update, parents feel connected to their child’s educational journey and have a clear understanding of the exciting things happening in our classroom.
Step 4: Personalize Communication for Each Parent
While general updates about the classroom are important, it’s also important to personalize communication for each parent. Setting up a system in which you can regularly let parents know how their child is doing in the classroom – whether socially, academically, or emotionally – lets parents know you are “in the know” and genuinely care about their child. There are various modes of communication that you can utilize for personalized parents communication. Some of the most common ways include emails or handwritten notes. An alternative option is to use a Parent Communication Log. This log allows teachers to quickly write and log important notes about individual students throughout the day, and parents can access their child’s log to read those important notes whenever they want to!
Effective communication between teachers and parents creates a powerful partnership that drives student success. I’ve witnessed remarkable improvements in parent engagement and collaboration throughout the school year through these steps. Remember, as educators, we have the privilege of shaping young minds, and open communication is key to unlocking their potential. Let’s strengthen the bond between teachers and parents, supporting our students as they embark on their educational journey!
Warmly,
Heather | A Trailblazing Teacher
