Family/Teacher Communication

By: Susan Bratek Maria Conaway Nancy Foote Mary Kirchner

Family/Teacher Communication

What is it? What are some reasons you would

communicate with a parent/guardian? What are some methods of

communicating with parent/guardian?

WRITE DOWN YOUR ANSWERS ON A SEPARATE SHEET OF PAPER.

Types of School Communication

Institutional vs. Individual Epstein’s six types of school practices

Parenting and child development Child’s progress and school programs Volunteering and participating in activities Helping child learn at home Decision making Collaboration with community resources

Why is family/teacher communication important?

A strong and positive relationship between parents and teachers serves the best interest of the student. Communication throughout the year is essential to support student success and well being.

Why is family/teacher communication important?

Higher academic achievement Higher aspirations & self-esteem More positive attitude Higher graduation rates Fewer incidents of suspensions

Why is family/teacher communication important?

Creates a positive partnership Increases overall parent involvement Provides insight into students’ strengths

& weaknesses Reinforces classroom lessons External environment impacts school

environment

Why is family/teacher communication important?

No Child Left Behind – requires schools to provide opportunities for parent involvement

National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) – Teachers are members of a learning community; must work collaboratively with parents

Professional obligation

Why is there a lack of involvement?

Lack of transportation Strict employers Language barriers Intimidation Negative feelings

Why is there a lack of communication? A child verbally relays a message incorrectly. Phone calls being missed and both parties end

up playing “phone tag” leaving messages but never actually speaking.

Notes or letters end up missing or lost. No one is to blame in these scenarios but both

parties can do something to repair the lines of communications

Including All Parents in the School Community (video)

Factors that influence communication:

Teacher attitudes and assumptions Parent attitudes and assumptions School culture Social/cultural issues

Elementary LevelFamily Communication Strategies

Parent surveys Open house Establish open door policy E-mail correspondence

Elementary LevelFamily Communication Strategies

Class website Classroom newsletter Activities – ex. “come to school with me” Provide opportunities in the classroom

for parents to participate Use digital camera to provide pictures

Elementary LevelFamily Communication Strategies

Parent teacher conferences Flexible scheduling for conferences Positive phone calls Daily folders Opportunity for parents to request

behavior reports, etc.

Professional Development:Simulated Family/Teacher Conferences

Improve the teachers ability to listen to and speak deeply with parents

Provide teachers with opportunities to interact with parents who present a variety of racial, ethnic, socioeconomic and scholastic related variables

Secondary LevelFamily Communication Strategies

Make contact early Introduce yourself either by phone or email

Newsletters Send one home at the beginning of the year

Availability Be available during the day and in the evening

Be positive Positive attention focused on strengths is

empowering Create a comfortable atmosphere

Parents should not feel intimidated

Secondary LevelFamily Communication Strategies

Be a good listener Offer to let parents speak first at meetings

Community involvement Establish solid home/school connections

Be prepared Have notes ready to easily refer to them

Professionalism Look, dress, and speak the part

Interview

Interviewed four high school teachers, two of which are in their first year of teaching.

Asked them a series of questions about family communication and what advice they had for pre-service teachers.

Interview Findings

Not many teachers take a course specifically on family communication.

Most teachers have a plan of communication in place before the school year begins.

Interview Findings

Most teachers use email as the preferred form of communication.

Only made contact for students who were doing poorly or who greatly improved. Did not find time to contact for good reasons.

Interview Findings

Advice: Make contact early. Email the parent/guardian first. Don’t brush off one bad behavioral issue

and wait for it to happen again, let them know as soon as it happens.

Keep detailed logs and examples of student work and behavior when making contact.

Specific Examples

Detailed information sheets Parent surveys Online grading systems

Parent Portal Good news notices Conference records Newsletters

Redskin Reporter

Parent Perspective: Secondary Level

What do parents expect from the teacher? Personality traits – patient, caring,

flexible, organized, fair, friendly Flexibility – on assignments when out

sick Consistent behavior and follow through Syllabus at the beginning of the school

year Challenge the smarter students, extra

help for others

Effective Methods of Communication

E-mail – quick and timely responses Telephone calls – not just the negative

type Mail – parent surveys Monthly newsletter

Parent/Teacher Conferences

Generally, not enough time Mygradebook.com (online grades) Flexible times offered (day and evening

times) Reminder email of date/time Using Plain Terms (video)

What reasons would parents/families like to be contacted for? Upcoming reviews for NYS testing Grade drop of more than one letter

grade Excessive homework missing Student struggling academically If problems, notify immediately – don’t

wait!!

Parents/families want to know…

Where can student go for extra help? What is the grading policy? What can families do at home to help the

student?

Things to consider regarding parents/families: Parents of tweens are dealing with relationship

changes with their children. Parents need to feel wanted and needed. Parents are giving children more freedom in

decision making and forcing more responsibility on tweens.

Parents don’t feel welcome in their child’s bedroom, let alone their classroom.

Things to consider regarding parents/families:

Take the extra time to be a “teacher” – parents want to know that you genuinely care for their child.

Effective parent communication takes both time and effort.

Important Quotes

Education is much more than just academic success. We must use the parent-teacher relationship to help students achieve a sense of competence and balance.

Like all relationships, the parent- teacher relationship is a dynamic. What one does affects the other, but the person most impacted is the child/student.