5 Tips for Parent Communication This School Year
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Does your stomach flip a little whenever you need to contact a student’s parent?
I used to get a bit nervous whenever I needed to contact a student’s parents, wondering how they would react and what questions they might have.
Then I started to implement these 5 strategies to enable a smoother teacher/parent relationship.
Note: I repeated this process again in January after Winter Break.
Tip #1: Make a Positive Parent Contact The First Week of School.
I understand the first week of school is incredibly busy and stressful! However, the year I started making positive parent contacts the first week of school made such a wonderful difference in how my communication with parents continued the rest of the year!
When you take the time to initiate parent contact about positive acts in the classroom, it demonstrates to parents and students that you look for and acknowledge positive behaviors.
It also shows that you are willing to take the time out of your day to communicate those positive actions to parents. Now, getting a phone call or text from the teacher is no longer just a sign of trouble.
The first week, I printed off a class set of The Parent Communication Log pages, and I used these pages for the initial positive parent contacts. I recorded five-six student names per day on the log and made the calls, texts or sent emails.
I continued each day until all of my students received a positive call the first week. I made a point to start with the students that were showing signs of struggling when following directions, interacting with other students, or being respectful.
Note:
If I knew from a previous teacher that a student struggled with completing work or behavior, I made it a point to call the first day. This enabled me to catch the positive moments and relay them before I had to touch base about any behavior that needed work.
One year, I had a parent say to me when I called, “No one has ever called me to tell me something good like that before!”
From that moment on, the parent and I became a team that worked together to help the student thrive in the classroom.
Note:
The first week of school, I initially made a phone call unless I already knew from our Open House a parent’s preferred method of communication, such as texts or emails. If I was not able to leave a message, I sent a positive note home with the student instead.
This process also helped me gather the preferred method of contact for each family. Then I knew I had current numbers and emails, and I wouldn’t accidentally wake up a parent who works third shift.
Tip #2: “I’m Just Letting You Know…”
This became my go-to phrase that I used when connecting with parents. I found that parents were very receptive when I used this phrase because:
It’s nonjudgemental
I never asked the parents to do anything specific, such as implement a consequence at home. That was for the parent to decide. I had already implemented a consequence at school.
I wanted to make a point to parents that I was communicating what was happening in the classroom as soon as possible, so the student had time to stop the behavior before a more serious consequence might be needed.
Tip #3: Be The First One To Connect
I always made it a point to contact the parent as soon as possible. I found that parents were much more willing to listen when they first heard about a situation from me, the teacher, rather than the student or someone else.
Even if I had a situation that happened at the last recess or at the end of the day, and I did not have time to fully speak with students about an incident, I still called or texted the parents of every student who was possibly involved. I let the parents know:
I was aware of the situation
I was unable to speak with students and find a resolution yet. But I was going to complete my discussion with the students the next day, and I would let parents know what was discovered.
I also communicated with the principal and made him/her aware of the situation, if applicable.
Parents were extremely receptive and appreciative that I kept them in the loop.
Tip #4: Keep A List Of Phrases
There were times during my first few years of teaching that I became flustered, and I didn’t always communicate what I wanted to say in the best way. I wrote a list of phrases and kept that list in front of me when I called parents until these phrases became more natural. Phrases such as:
“I’m just letting you know…”
“I cannot tell you the name of the other student(s) due to privacy reasons.
I am happy to speak with our principal and relay our conversation.
Yes, I can ask the principal to call you. I don’t know his/her schedule, so I can’t tell you the exact time that he/she will reach out.
I understand.
Thank you so much. I really appreciate us working as a team to support (enter name of student)!
Making a point to write out these phrases during my first few years really helped me keep the conversation on point and positive when speaking with parents.
Tip #5: Parent Communication Log
Keep a log throughout the school year. Write down every time you communicate with parents, whether it’s for positive situations or incidents that need work.
It is so helpful to be able to look back and see how many times you’ve spoken to or reached out to parents. A log gives you the ability to show your principal, or anyone else that needs to know, that you have kept parents informed throughout the year about both positive behavior and also any behavior that needs work.
Remember to write down whenever you have reached out to parents, even if you did not actually speak with a person or receive a reply.
Implementing these 5 Tips For Parent Communication really strengthened my confidence in my communication skills when it came time to speak with parents.
I believe using these strategies created positive interactions with parents and inspired a sense of collaboration and teamwork, which enabled us to strengthen student support!
Here Are Some Awesome Resources That Will Help You Even More:
The Small Groups Blueprint | Teachers 2nd-6th Grade! Tired of being told you need to differentiate for all your students, but never exactly how? In this Blueprint, I will show you each step, from setting up your classroom layout to implementing each group and what activities you can use.
I also walk you through how to set up automatic grading assessments, along with organizational tips!
The Small Groups Blueprint is your roadmap to implement Small Groups in your classroom that provide individualized instruction with fewer interruptions!
The Academic Planner & Organizer | This Academic Planner & Organizer has everything you need, so you can stop scrambling to find binders.
Keep everything you need this year together in one place: monthly calendar, weekly overview, meeting notes, student data, parent contact information and more!
Save time and your sanity and check out this planner!
Click Here: Yes! Let's Get Organized!
Create Your Ideal Classroom Layout For Small Groups | This guide is the roadmap to help you create a classroom layout that supports a successful Small Group Time! Learn how some simple tweaks can make a world of difference and prevent issues before they start.
Set a strong foundation that sets you and your students up for success during your Small Group Time.
