One of the things that I work very hard on in my classroom is making sure that I have the communication lines from school to home flowing openly. When I was asked by my current principal this past spring to finish my student teaching and then finish the school year in my same position I have now, she told me that I absolutely had to get the bridges mended back together with parents and communication. I thought that I would share a few of my tips with you all. Hopefully you can integrate some of them into your classroom too if are not already.
1. Weekly Updates- Even though I teach 6th grade, I still send out a weekly update to my parents each and every week. At the beginning of the school year I send home a note about the class as well as an information sheet for parents to fill out so I can contact them more easily. On this sheet I also have a spot where parents can choose how they would like to receive the weekly update. They have the option to receive it electronically through e-mail, a hard copy sent home with their student, or they may choose to not receive the update. I send the update out each week on Monday afternoon and then send the hard copy home with students on Tuesday. In the update each week I let parents know what we will be learning as well as any tests that will be that week. I also include important dates for things that are going on within the school such as assemblies, pep rallies, dances, etc.
2. Invite Parents to Student Presentations- Lat spring I invited the parents of my students to come and watch their students when they gave their research paper presentations. The parents thought it was great that I invited them and it was great giving them the chance to see their student working. I will be doing this again this year when students present.
3. Have a Classroom Website- This is something that I just started this year after talking with one of the math teachers. Currently I am using Teacher Web to house my website and I love how easy it is to update. You can find my classroom website here. Several teachers I know also use a free website, Weebly. I post on this on a weekly basis and also include a calendar, classroom wishlist, and books we've read on here. I have gotten lots of positive feedback from the parents about the site.
How do you keep open communication between school and home in your classroom?
Love the tips! Parent communication is important, even with our older kids! Thanks for commenting on my post! I replied to you on my persuasion blog post :)
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