Parent Teacher Communication (page 2)

Communicating with parents is extremely important. The more you communicate with your students’ parents, the more support you are likely to have from them. We discuss a variety of formats for communicating with parents.

Considerations

• Keep parents up-to-date on school and classroom policies.
• Inform parents regularly about what is happening in the classroom.
• Communicate with parents often about their own child.

Welcome Letter

Sending a simple welcome letter home with students on the first day of school gets the school year off to a good start.

Considerations

• Introduce yourself to the parents.
• Outline basic procedures and expectations.
• Ask other teachers who send out a welcome letter to share their ideas with you.
• Obtain office approval for the welcome letter before sending it home.
• Information in a welcome letter could include the following:
  • Information about yourself as the teacher
  • Classroom information, such as schedules and procedures
  • School information, such as policies
  • Reminders for parents, including ways they can assist—both at home and at school

Parent Newsletter

A newsletter keeps parents informed and creates a sense of community.

Considerations

• Send a newsletter home to parents on the first day of school, or at least within the first week of school.
• Establish a newsletter schedule, such as once a week, and stick to it. A parent newsletter is an excellent way of communicating with parents on a regular basis.
• Use the parent newsletter to demonstrate that your classroom is well organized and is functioning well.
• Get approval from the school office before sending out a newsletter.
• Try a monthly or quarterly newsletter if it is too overwhelming to prepare one more frequently.
• Create a template, and then simply change the content for each newsletter. It’s important to make the parent newsletter simple to produce.
• Make the parent newsletter exciting and informative. You want parents to look forward to reading each issue—not disregard it.
• Use the parent newsletter to keep parents informed about your curriculum and your goals for the year.
• Share your focus for the classroom in the parent newsletter, and it will be easier for parents to support you at home.
• Design the parent newsletter with a layout that includes the following elements:
  • Five to eight ideas
  • Two to three columns, or four to six sections
  • School logo
• The content of a parent newsletter could include the following:
  • Teacher contact information
  • Expectations
  • Classroom rules and boundaries; a classroom Bill of Rights
  • Homework protocol
  • Weekly spelling list (10 words for grades K–2, 20 words for grades 3–6)
  • Recommended reading
  • List of books for independent reading
  • Appropriate book report titles
  • List of school-approved recess and lunch snacks
  • Notices for upcoming curriculum nights (such as Literacy Night, Science Night, and Math Night).
  • Upcoming field trips
  • Technology websites relevant to current learning
  • Current children-friendly movies in theaters or on DVD
  • Wish list for materials needed in the classroom

Weekly Homework Sheet and Weekly Lesson Overview

Keep parents informed about their child’s weekly academic work with a weekly homework sheet or a weekly lesson overview that shows assigned homework for each day of the week.

Considerations

• Use a template to customize weekly communications with parents.
• Add a motivational quote.
• Include a signature area where a parent signs off when the homework is completed.
• Be flexible. Plans can—and often do—change. Just have students make a note of any changes on their weekly homework sheet.

Weekly Assessment

A weekly assessment that includes the week’s spelling test and a report on behavior for the week can be sent home on Fridays for parents to review and sign.

Considerations

• Use a template to customize weekly communications with parents.
• Explain weekly assessment procedures to parents before referring to them in a first parent newsletter or at Back to School Night.
• Be consistent.