Today I am joining forces again with a group of bloggers to discuss an important topic: communication between schools and parents. If you missed it, last month we talked about homework.
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Good communication with your child’s school, especially the teacher, is very important. A positive parent-teacher relationship contributes to your child’s school success. A positive relationship between the parent and teacher helps your child feel good about school and be successful in school.
Your child’s teacher is a very important person in their lives and by working together you are showing your child that he/she can trust their teacher, because you do. As in any relationship, communication is very important and the key to building a strong relationship and developing trust.
Communicating effectively with a busy teacher can be challenging. When’s the right time to talk and when isn’t? How much should you ask the teacher about. What should you bring up with her/him and what should be left alone? How do you create a relationship with someone you rarely see? How do you get involved and ask questions without seeming like a overanxious and nagging parent.
The best way to answer these questions is to ask the teacher in the beginning of the school year how they handle communication with parents and what their preferred method of communicating is. There are a few different ways to communicate with your child’s teacher. Technology has really made it so much easier to communicate with your child’s teacher.
Agenda book: We are lucky enough to have a school that does an agenda book. This is a place for the teacher and/or student to record their homework and a place for parents and teachers to communicate with each other. Both parents and teachers must sign off on the book each day. It is a place not only to ask about a child’s performance, but also to let teachers know if a child is going to miss school or be picked up early. Agenda books are also a place to let the teacher know if anything is going on at home that may be affecting a child’s performance at school.
Email: I primarily use the agenda book to communicate with teachers, but I also find email a very effective way to communicate. Email can be done at the convenience of the person sending and/or receiving the email. It is also something you can save and go back to later and review.
Phone call: You can always call the school office and leave a message for the teacher to return your call.
Parent teacher conference (formal and informal): Our school has twice yearly parent teacher conferences in which everyone is scheduled for a twenty minute conference with their teacher. I have also met with teachers after school for a quick discussion both scheduled and unscheduled.
App: Our son’s kindergarten teacher uses an app called ClassDojo to record and track behavior. I receive a weekly email of that week’s report. I have not used it, but there is a section within this app to send the teacher a message.
One thing I love and find helpful is getting insight from other parents and especially teachers as to what works best. I am super excited to read these posts from other parents and teachers with their tips.
- 10 Practical Ways to Communicate With Your Child’s Teacher by Books and Giggles
- Seven Insider Tips for Getting Good Results When Communicating with Your Child’s Teacher by Thriving STEM
- Keeping the Lines of Communication Open with Your Chid’s Teacher by Creative Family Fun
- Keeping an Open Communication with Teachers – Free Teacher Note Printable by 3 Dinosaurs
- Teachers Are From Mars, Parents Are From Venus by Planet Smarty Pants
The most important thing no matter what method you choose, is to communicate with your child’s teacher.
