15 Ways to Build Parent-Teacher Communication
Beyond the teacher introduction letter to parents, I want to share 15 ways you can build parent teacher communication. Because, after all, good communication helps the student, parents, and teachers achieve goals.
1. Daily/Weekly Behavior Chart:
A behavior contract is a great method of documenting goals and communicating with parents. More specifically, if there is a behavior concern that families are wanting to correct at home, this traveling folder allows the parents to see the child’s efforts at school. In turn, parents can reward, intervene, and write messages for the teacher to see. The teacher then has a better understanding of strategies being implemented at home. This will show the student that both the teacher and his/her parents are working together to help him achieve his goals.
2. Weekly newsletter:
When writing a classroom newsletter, include standards you are working on in class, tips to practice at home, homework, and upcoming events. While weekly newsletters are a great method to build parent teacher communication, I strongly suggest keeping your information bulleted or formatted into small sections. Parents simply don’t have the time to sit down and read a full page of long, detailed, paragraphs.
3. Parent Communication Log:
As you communicate with parents throughout the year, you can quickly refer back to previous conversations kept on the log – showing parents you care and respect the information they share with you.
4. School work:
5. Quarterly progress reports:
6. Report cards Comments:
7. Photos:
8. Phone Calls:
9. Conferences:
10. Email:
11. Traveling class books:
The kids LOVE sharing class books with their families. They are an excellent way for parents to compare their child’s work to others. To save you time, I have created a traveling class book parent letter.
12. Apps:
13. Parent letters:
Sometimes the emails and apps can get overlooked. Year after year, I found myself scrambling to jot a quick parent letter to send home. I would rush as the students were getting packed up, or as I was trying to find time to eat my lunch. To solve that problem, I created these wonderful parent letters to keep in my files, and simply send home if needed. They are a HUGE time saver! You can check them out, HERE.
14. Parent Volunteers:
Invite parents to volunteer at the school. They can be a birthday reader to help celebrate birthdays at school, or get volunteers in the classroom on a regular basis. This will give them an opportunity to see how their child is interacting in the classroom.
15. Host a Skills Night:
Conclusion
