Five Tips for Better Parent Communication

I originally wrote this as a guest post for  Raki's Rad Resources and I have updated it a little based on recent experiences.  This week I begin my twenty-third year in the classroom.  Although my career has not been totally free from conflict with parents, I want to share with you five things I consider when contacting parents.

Be proactive.  I start with a parent information form the first week of school.  At the top of the form is this sentence: “I believe that a parent is a child’s first and best teacher.”  It sets the tone for the year.  I included this form in a previous post.

Be positive.  All families advocate for their children. They just may not approach us in the way we like at the times we like. All families want their students to be successful. We may define success in different ways. Someone who doesn’t seem to cooperate is probably just afraid.  I need to remember that some of my parents have never had a good experience at school. 

Be predictable. When I transferred to the school where I teach now, I earned the reputation of working well with parents.  “You answer our emails,” one parent shared with me. I make it a personal goal to respond to a parent within twenty-four hours.  I make sure I am on time to parent meetings.  I want parents to know they can trust me with their children. If I put off contacting the parent, the problem generally grows worse.

Be professional.  It’s tempting to gossip in the staff lounge and speculate about family backgrounds.  The more parents know they can trust me to keep their concerns private, the more they are willing to share with me information that will help me teach their child.

On the other hand, talking with the student’s previous teacher can give you good information to help you this year.  Make sure this conversation is private and based on direct observations of the child and parent conferences.

 

If I do need to process a difficult situation aloud, I have a teaching buddy in another district who I walk with.  I know I can share and she will keep my confidences.

 

Be prudent.  I have had five or so parents in my career that made me uneasy for one reason or another.  It is wise to invite another staff member to attend these conferences.  Another person can be a buffer in a potential conflict or a neutral witness to what I share with the parent.  If you do this, let the parents know who will be attending the conference so they don’t feel cornered. 

The other side of this is inviting the parent to bring in someone he or she feels comfortable with.  It is tough to receive difficult information without a support system.

I make communication with parents a priority and I hope they see that.  I believe that this priority benefits everyone.

Parent Survey -- Back to School #2

 

Last week I shared my student information form that I use the first week of school and keep until the last day of school.  Today I want to share my parent information form: forever free and completely editable.

To download Parent Information Form from my Teachers Pay Teachers Store, click here.

To download Parent Information Form from my Teachers Notebook Store, click here.


I have left it in a form that is completely editable so you can add, edit or delete questions and add your contact information.  I seldom use materials exactly the way they were created and this is definitely one each teacher will want to put their personal stamp on.

This is the first communication parents receive from me and I start out with this statement:

I believe that a parent is a child’s first and best teacher.  Please take a moment and share with me some information about your child as a learner.

 

I find that this sets a positive tone for my communication with parents.  I hang onto these forms and review them before I have a parent/teacher conference.  I hope you find them useful.

100% Participation

I just had to celebrate something that doesn't happen very often -- at least in my world.  This year I had 100% participation in parent conferences.  I can't remember a year when every child in my class had a parent who came to parent teacher conferences.  There are some children whose parents I never met.  I would try to contact them, but we never connected.

The other half of this celebration is that no parent was surprised at what I shared at the conference.  Some years I have shared evidence that a child is not at standard and received anger.  (Then I went to the previous teachers to find out this was a habitual response.)  I am excited about what can happen in a class where parents and teachers are truly working together.

Caring Classrooms -- A Parent Inventory

Laura Candler of Corkboard Connections is hosting a link up for Creating Caring Classrooms.  I want to take this opportunity to share how I begin to build relationships with the parents of my students.  I send home my Parent Information Form to parents the first day of school for several reasons:

• I get valuable information from parents that I wouldn't read in a permanent record.
• Parents are invited into their child's education -- or rather I acknowledge the important role they have.
• When students see that I accept and invite their families into the classroom, they know I accept them.

I don't get the form back from every parent, but it does give every family the opportunity to share with me.  What parents write about their children touches me and I can make sure that I have started the year emphasizing the positive.

A Trip to the Park

Recently I took a friend's children to the park.  The two older children had a great time.  The youngest has some sensory issues and so a change in routine is difficult.  At first he was fighting me and trying to bolt into the street.  Next he through himself down on the ground and became limp -- closing his eyes and looking as though he had passed out.

All of the other parents at the park turned to watch.  I could imagine the collective question, "What is wrong with that kid?"

This was a great moment for me to experience as a teacher.  Parents of children with special needs have these moments in public often.  Their child isn't responding to the park, the zoo, or the grocery store the way other children are.  It may feel like a moment of judgment.

This group of parents were not judging my friend's child or my skills as a caregiver.  They showed caring concern and took my cues for what was needed.  He settled in after about a half hour of lying on the wood chips.  When he was done playing, he bolted again across the field.

When I sit in IEP meetings this year, I need to have empathy for my students' parents.  I'm glad I was able to stick my toe in my friend's sandals for an hour or two.

Question of the Week -- Parent Communication

I write a classroom newsletter once a week for my parents.  In addition, I maintain a classroom website and I call or email individual parents as needed.


How do you communicate with parents?