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 CommunityIncluding 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 Level Family Communication Strategies  Parent surveys  Open house  Establish open door policy  correspondence

Elementary Level Family 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 Level Family 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 Level Family Communication Strategies  Make contact early Introduce yourself either by phone or  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 Level Family 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 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. 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  – 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 of date/time  Using Plain Terms (video) Using Plain Terms

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.