COMMUNICATING WITH FAMILIES

In his book Successful Coaching, Rainer Martens discusses managing relationships with parents and says that the key to creating a good relationship with parents is "informing them about your program and listening to their concerns" (p. 454). This is the same for teachers as getting parents in the loop and keeping them in it is crucial to ensure that their child is getting the most of their education (because they know their child better than I would as their teacher).

"A Million Words or Less": This is a first day of school assignment that asks parents to describe their child in a million words or less. They can write as much (or as little) as they want. I got the idea for this from one of my education professors at Fisher, who actually had us take this to our parents at the beginning of the semester and (even though he was annoyed by having to do this after a hard day of work at the Post Office) my dad did it and wrote quite a bit about me that accurately reflected me as a person. This activity also contributes to community building between parents, students, and teachers because it gives the teacher a better insight into the student, as a person, from the people who know them best; their parents (see attachment).

Million Words or less Parent HW.docx

Parent-Student-Teacher Conferences: Conferences are one of those things that teachers have to do, but that doesn't mean they don't have a purpose. They provide an opportunity for teachers and parents (and potentially students) to communicate in person and address the current status of a student in a class (how they are doing, their strengths and areas of improvement, and any concerns they or their parents have). I would have parents sign up for conferences using a Google Doc (that I would email them a week in advance). I would ask that they have a conversation with their child before the conference to ask how they are doing (they could even fill out a copy of the sheet I will use, which would be similar to the one on the left). I would also schedule a meeting with the student before the conference to see how they feel they are doing (as well as prepare my own observations for the meeting). At the conference, all of us would then share our notes (the parents, student, and teacher) and discuss any discrepancies or differences. Also, either I or my student would prepare a small portfolio of their work for the conference. I believe that the student should be an active participant in a high school conference because they are at an age where they should start working towards being self-reliant and accountable (in order to prepare for college) as well as provide three different perspectives about the same topic*. In fact, this strategy was inspired by a college meeting I had with one of my professors and an advisor (I'm not going to disclose what the meeting was about, but afterwards I went home and discussed the subject with my family), so I thought that it would be better to have all involved parties in the room at the same time.

Grade 9-10 Social Studies Reading CCLS #6

Compare the point of view of two or more authors for how they treat the same or similar topics, including which details they include and emphasize in their respective accounts.

Monthly Newsletter: I would do a monthly newsletter to parents in order to not only ease the burden on myself, but also prevent the parents from becoming disinterested with it (as weekly newsletters risk doing). I would post one on my class website (like that on the right, except for my class instead of the school) and update it every month with any events (field trips, projects, historical events) that occurred and photos of them. This will allow parents to know what their students have been doing (in a general sense) over the course of the previous month. (This can also potentially help teachers with curriculum nights or open houses as.)

"Best Way to Reach You": It is important for a teacher to have the contact information of the parents in case of an emergency or if they need to schedule a meeting or just to call and give them praise for their child. I would include something similar to the image on the left as part of the syllabus which the students would have to return to me as part of their first assignment for the class at the beginning of the year (they could staple it to the "Million Words or Less" Assignment), so I can have their parents' contact information and the best time to contact them in case I need to get a hold of them.

Class Website: In addition to being the place that I would put my monthly classroom newsletters, I would use my class website to post important information for my students such as grades, important reminders/announcements (about tests, projects, essays, upcoming events and assignments), my contact information and office hours/class schedule, class schedule (for notes and subjects/units), Parent-Teacher-Student Conference schedule, and any school-wide events (such as abbreviated days and snow days).

Office Hours & Class Schedule: I got this idea from my college professors and how they would put the times they were available on their syllabuses and I also thought about how my high school teachers would put their class schedule on their classroom door so students would know when the teacher was available during the day. Here is how I would use both of these: I would have a copy of my class schedule on the door of my room and on my class website for the students to know when I am available during the day and use an office hours sheet for my availability after school (for parents to contact or meet with me), which I would also post on my door and website.