How to Build A Strong Parent Communication Plan
Having a parent communication plan is something I never really thought about in school. They do not really tell you that this is important. Sure we touched on being in contact with parents, but there was really no information about to juggle this and all of the other demands related to being and educator.
Having a strong parent communication plan can really help you feel less overwhelmed and connected with parents. In this episode I talk about different strategies for contacting parents and keeping parents in the loop. I mainly focus on building a strong relationship with them and making positive contacts home. This way if a situation arises where you do have to contact a parent about a behavior that occurred in your classroom you have strong relationship with them before that phone call.
Just like our students like to be recognized for appropriate behavior, our parents like to hear about their child’s success and accomplishments in your classroom, not just mistakes they have made. In this episode I talk about a variety of different options you have for building this relationship with parents that are feasible for any classroom teacher.
The key is to make frequent positive contacts with each parent but to do so in a manner that does not stress you out as the teacher. For example, each day you can write a simple short note home to five of your students. You can take the first 5 minutes of your planning period to write these notes and rotate through all of your students throughout the week. This can be a simple touch point for each of your parents and can go such a long way if you do have to call home about behaviors that occur in your classroom.
Parents want to know you care about their student, and I know we care about all of our students, be imagine being on the receiving end of phone calls related to behavior constantly. This can be really tough and can lead to a difficult relationship between you and the parent. If you develop a strong relationship from the start of the school year, this can go such a long way. We all want the same thing, for our students to do the best they can in our classrooms, having strong parent relationships is so important for that!
I also have a resource of templates for parent communication, click the link below to get this resource now and developing your plan tomorrow
