PARENT-TEACHER COMMUNICATION

Many Ways To Reach Parents
For those times when face-to-face conferences are not possible or necessary, teachers can communicate effectively in other ways. Telephone calls, newsletters and handwritten notes are all effective ways to maintain communication with parents.

Phone Home!
Telephone calls are the next best thing to being there. They are an effective tool for maintaining good school-to-home communication.

When calling a student’s home:
• Make a practice of calling at least one parent a week to relay good news. Keep track of these “sunshine” calls and make sure each family receives at least two during the school year.
• Telephone etiquette requires that we address the person we are calling by name. Many students have different last names from their parents. Make sure you know the name before you call.
• Keep track of all calls made – good news or bad. Note the date, nature of the call, parents’ responses and outcomes.
• Make your first call to any home a positive one. It’s a good idea to make welcoming calls just before the new school year begins. These welcoming calls not only help establish good rapport with parents, they ease young students’ anxieties about going to school.
• Try to call those parents who don’t respond to a written invitation for group or individual conferences. A call lets them know you’re interested, and it could encourage those who are hesitant.

The Written Word
Pre-planning and thought are required to send home a written communication that will be effective. A record of written notes needs to be kept for future reference.

Forms of written communications are:
• welcome notes prior to school beginning
• happy notes
• letters or notes of commendation/congratulations
• form letters pertaining to attendance, routine events
• newsletters of classroom activities
• schedule of important dates/assignments
• outlines of classes/criteria
• formal letters concerning necessary discipline action

Newsletters
Parents want to know what’s happening around their child’s school. School newsletters are considered a useful source of information for parents. Classroom newsletters are even more helpful.

A classroom newsletter can include some of the following:
• announcement of upcoming events
• invitations to class activities or open houses
• reminders
• lists of items parents could collect or save for class projects
• thank-you notes to families who help out
• descriptions of study units and suggestions of ways parents can supplement units at home
• library schedule
• reprints or articles you think are important
• explanations of grading policies, standardized testing and other means for assessing and evaluating performance
• explanations of behaviour standards and consequences for misbehaviour
• highlights of community resources such as a museum exhibit, play, concert or television show
• children’s writing and artwork
• news about classroom pets, trips, celebrations

The format can be as simple as a typed letter to parents or as complicated as a professional-looking document with headlines and columns. No matter which format you use, use the same one each time so the newsletter becomes instantly recognizable. Keep the format clean and uncluttered. Headings help parents locate different topics, and simple graphics, such as boldface, help to summarize main points and capture attention.

Personal Notes
First contact with parents should always be positive. This way, you can gain parents’ trust and confidence before you have to enlist their help if a problem should develop.

Share good news about individual children with their parents. This can go a long way in cultivating good relationships with both parents and students. Has a child accomplished an academic goal? Helped you or someone else? Finished her or his homework on time? Tutored a younger child? Led a group? Let parents in on the good news. Good-news notes allow you to recognize and reward the efforts of individual children.

Keep track of the good-news notes you send out so every student occasionally receives one.

Unfortunately, not all your personal notes will be good news. Perhaps you’ve noticed that a child seems sick or constantly tires. Another is having difficulty in math and risks a failing grade. A shy child seems to be withdrawing more every day. You need to tell parents. But if you have already contacted them on a positive note, it is likely that they’ll be more responsive now to problems. Always let them know you share the problem.

No matter what the nature of your personal note, always invite a response. Urge parents to call you, schedule an appointment or write back. If they don’t, call them to show that you care.

Your Own Class Homepage
When individualized communication is not necessary, you can easily post messages to all parents on your own Class Homepage. For instance, rather than sending a monthly newsletter home with your students, you could put the letters up on your Class Homepage and simply ask parents to visit every month.

MyClassInfo is a free online service for parent-teacher communication (http://www.myclassinfo.org/app/login).

Parents In The Classroom
If you decide that you want parents to be involved in your classroom, you need to decide in advance:
• How do you make it meaningful for students and parents?
• How do you ensure that involvement enhances and does not interfere with your program?
• Think about issues of confidentiality

There are several options to explore:
• The occasional helper for field trips, guest speaking, special performances
• The weekly helper who assists with teacher preparation of centre activities, works with children and assists in small group activities
• “Authentic” educational experiences in parents’ areas of expertise

Parent involvement will not “just happen”. It needs to be pre-planned and created as a trusting environment for children and adults. Adults must gain satisfaction from the tasks that they do in the classroom.

Source: “Communication with Parents”
http://teacher.scholastic.com/professional/parentconf/

Strategies To Support Parent Involvement
• Communicate openly and regularly with parents in language which is free of jargon.
• Clarify how parents can participate.
• Give parents the opportunity to specify how, and to what degree, they wish to become involved in their child’s educational program.
• Contact parents by telephone as well as through written communication to notify them of meetings.
• Advise parents of the topics which will be discussed at the meeting and who will be in attendance.
• Send home a rough draft of goals and objectives prior to the meeting.

Teacher Tips For Successful Parent-Teacher Conferences
“Always begin with something positive about the child, then work your way into what needs to be improved upon.”
- Joanne Badour, Grade 4/5 Teacher, Begley P.S.

“To prepare myself and the parents for conferences, I send home a form with the conference invitation that asks the parents to write down their concerns and questions about their child or school policies, and return it to me before conferences. I also include a list of major topics we have covered and what I expect each child to be able to do. That way, parents can review what their child has done from papers sent home, and it won’t be a surprise if their child isn’t doing well. Then, I spend conference time working with parents on a plan to help their child. I also keep work samples on hand for conferences.”
- Rick Onslow, Grade 4 Teacher, Marlborough P.S.

“Don’t talk down to parents. Be honest and truthful. Try to speak in the positive, not always negative. Offer positive ways to help a struggling child. Make at-home ideas and games to be used by the parents to work with the child. Listen to what the parents have to say. Thank them for taking time to come and meet with you on the day of the conference.”
- Colleen Glover-Klym, Grade 1 Teacher, Marlborough P.S.

“As an administrator I encourage my staff to “be prepared”. Send home brief questionnaires to parents asking them if they have a specific area or concern they wish to talk about. Have plenty of work samples, especially if you are going to talk about an area of weakness, plus, have some specific suggestions ready for the parent when they ask “What can I do to help?” Remember… you are the instructional expert.”
- Doug Greeves, Principal, Marlborough P.S.

Sources: “Communication With Parents”
http://teacher.scholastic.com/professional/parentconf/

“Parent Teacher Communication”
http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/succeed/09-communication.html