Depending on your past experience, some teachers find parent communication one of the most daunting parts of the job! Here are my tips for making parent communication more enjoyable and less daunting!
Start Early & Be Proactive
I make it a goal to reach out to each family during the first two weeks of school with a quick email. I like to introduce myself, share my contact information, and share a specific, positive thing that I’ve noticed about their child and that I am looking forward to a great year with them. This starts the year on the right foot and ensures that the first time parents hear from me is not a negative interaction about a behavior concern. Most parents want to know that you see the good aspects of their child (like they do) before they will trust you!
Bonus Tip: I title my initial email as “Student Name is Awesome!” to increase the odds that parents will notice it! Who can pass up an email like that??
Be Positive
As I mentioned in the last section, I like to be sure to include positive comments in all parent communication! Even if I am reaching out about a concern or an unfortunate behavior issue and the resulting consequence, I find specific positive comments that I can start with. For some students, this is easy because they’ve recently shown great progress in a certain skill, have helped a classmate, or are generally just a great student to have. For others, it can be more difficult to share specific positive praise about a student, but that means it is also the most important. In addition, I try to end on a positive note, like how the student recovered from the issue and made better choices later in the day, or simply that I am looking forward to a better day tomorrow with the student.
Bonus Tip: Ask for insight when sending an email about a behavior change or challenge. Asking a parent if they have noticed a change at home or if they had any insight that could help you understand can help show that you want to problem-solve, not argue or tattle.
Track It
Getting in the habit of tracking your contacts with parents can seem daunting, but with the right tools and routines in place, it can feel like a breeze!
Truthfully speaking, there has never been a time that I wish I hadn’t documented something, but there have been many times where I wish I had!
Some districts have expectations around tracking parent contact, such as through their student information system. Others do not, meaning you have to create a system that works for you! I like to use a Google Form and bookmark it, making it easy to pull up as I am talking on the phone or after I send an email. I prefer this method for two reasons. First, I can export my responses to a Google Sheet and sort or search for specific entries, which is helpful! It also shows me some of my responses in graphs, which is always interesting to see. The second reason that I love this is that it is easy to share if needed! I have to share conference time documentation with my administrators, and I love downloading my responses to include as evidence in my end-of-year evaluation! I find it easiest to complete the tracker immediately after I talk with a parent or to catch up at the end of the day before I go home!
Bonus Tip: Don’t have the time or motivation to create your own tracker? Download my free Google Forms tracker here!
