Building Parent-Teacher
Relationships
Effective communication
is essential for building school-family partnerships. It constitutes the
foundation for all other forms of family involvement in education.
Parent Benefits
Positive parent-school communications
benefit parents. The manner in which schools communicate and interact with
parents affects the extent and quality of parents' home involvement with their
children's learning. For example, schools that communicate bad news about
student performance more often than recognizing students' excellence will
discourage parent involvement by making parents feel they cannot effectively
help their children.
Parents also benefit from being
involved in their children's education by getting ideas from school on how to
help and support their children, and by learning more about the school's
academic program and how it works. Perhaps most important, parents benefit by
becoming more confident about the value of their school involvement. Parents
develop a greater appreciation for the important role they play in their
children's education.
When communicating with
parents, consider your remarks in relation to the three categories that
influence how parents participate. For example, are you communicating about:
Classroom learning
activities?
The child's
accomplishments?
How the parents can help
at home with their child's learning?
Student Benefits
Substantial evidence exists showing that parent
involvement benefits students, including raising their academic achievement.
There are other advantages for children when parents become involved — namely,
increased motivation for learning, improved behavior, more regular attendance,
and a more positive attitude about homework and school in general.
Teacher Benefits
Research shows that parental involvement can free
teachers to focus more on the task of teaching children. Also, by having more
contact with parents, teachers learn more about students' needs and home
environment, which is information they can apply toward better meeting those
needs. Parents who are involved tend to have a more positive view of teachers,
which results in improved teacher morale.
Good Two-Way Communication
Good two-way communication between
families and schools is necessary for your students' success. Not surprisingly,
research shows that the more parents and teachers share relevant information
with each other about a student, the better equipped both will be to help that
student achieve academically.
Opportunities for two-way
communication include:
Parent conferences
Parent-teacher
organizations or school community councils
Weekly or monthly folders
of student work sent home for parent review and comment
Phone calls
E-mail or school website
Communication Strategies
Personal contact,
including conferences, home visits, telephone calls, and curriculum nights or
open houses, seems to be the most effective form of communication and may be
among the most familiar. However, the establishment of effective school-home
communication has grown more complex as society has changed. The great
diversity among families means that it is not possible to rely on a single
method of communication that will reach all homes with a given message. It is
essential that a variety of strategies, adapted to the needs of particular
families and their schedules, be incorporated into an overall plan. Some
strategies to consider include:
Parent newsletters
Annual open houses
Curriculum nights
Home visits (where
applicable)
Phone calls
Annual school calendars
Inserts in local
newspapers
Annual grandparents or
"special persons" days
Board of Education
spokesperson or communications officer at PTA meetings
Homework hotlines
Annual field days
Notices and handouts in
local markets, clinics, churches, mosques, temples, or other gathering sites
Website for the school
Workshops for parents
Communications that are
focused on fathers as well as mothers
Effective communication strategies involve:
Initiation: Teachers
should initiate contact as soon as they know which students will be in their
classroom for the school year. Contact can occur by means of an introductory
phone call or a letter to the home introducing yourself to the parents and
establishing expectations.
Timeliness: Adults should
make contact soon after a problem has been identified, so a timely solution can
be found. Waiting too long can create new problems, possibly through the
frustration of those involved.
Consistency and
frequency: Parents want frequent, ongoing feedback about how their children are
performing with homework.
Follow-through: Parents
and teachers each want to see that the other will actually do what they say
they will do.
Clarity and usefulness of
communication: Parents and teachers should have the information they need to
help students, in a form and language that makes sense to them.
Surprise a Parent
Parents are not accustomed to hearing
unsolicited positive comments from teachers about their children, especially in
a phone call from the school. Imagine how you would feel, as a parent, if you
were contacted by a teacher or the school principal and told that your son or
daughter was doing well in school, or that your child had overcome a learning
or behavior problem. When you make calls to share positive information with
parents, be prepared for them to sound surprised-pleasantly surprised.
Research shows that school-home communication is greatly
increased through personalized positive telephone contact between teachers and
parents. Remember, when a phone call from school conveys good news, the
atmosphere between home and school improves. When you have good news to share,
why wait? Make the call and start a positive relationship with a parent.
Phone Guidelines
Sometimes, as a new
teacher, it's difficult to make the first call to a parent or guardian.
Preparing for the call will make it easier. Before making a call, write down
the reasons for the call. One reason can be simply to introduce yourself to the
parent or guardian. Here are several guidelines you can use as you prepare:
Introduce yourself
Tell the parents what
their child is studying
Invite the parents to an
open house and/or other school functions
Comment on their child's
progress
Inform them of their
child's achievements (e.g., "Student of the Week")
Inform them of their
child's strengths or share an anecdote
American Federation of Teachers, (2007). Building
Parent-Teacher Relationships. Washington, D.C.: American Federation of
Teachers.
