8 Effective Steps to Enhance Parent-Teacher Communication
October 17, 2021
Parents and teachers want what is best for children, working to guide, raise, and educate them. Although parents and teachers share the same vision, factors can arise during communication between them that lead to misunderstandings. Every teacher must recognize the importance of building relationships with students' parents by communicating regularly, informing them of classroom policies, and scheduling appointments with them to discuss important matters.
So, what steps can you take to strengthen communication with parents in the classroom?
1. Talk to parents during student drop-off.
Dedicate time to greet parents, ask about your students, or even express excitement about upcoming events or occasions. This helps you build a relationship with parents before any formal meetings. That way, when a problem arises, you will have already spoken with the student's parent, reducing tension and prompting the conversation to begin on a more collaborative basis. Also, ensure you are prepared for your day to make the most of this time with parents.
2. Set a schedule for communicating with parents.
At the beginning of the year, clarify to parents that you might reach out during specific times, such as every Monday or the fifteenth of each month. The purpose of these updates is to keep parents informed of upcoming events, activities, and assignments. In addition, it demonstrates your commitment to the classroom as a whole. Communicating with parents also helps them understand that you will often need to make decisions based on the general interest of all your students, rather than individuals.
3. Ask parents to let you know their preferred communication method.
Talk with parents and find out what type of communication works best for them. Do they prefer text messages? Email? Or is meeting in the classroom better? While it may not be necessary to contact every child's parent individually in person, involving them in the conversation makes them feel that their opinions matter, and conveys the importance of parent-teacher communication easily and effectively.
4. Provide parents with specific, actionable solutions to the problems their children face.
Parents feel helpless or overwhelmed when their child struggles at school, and they often do not know what they can do to help them. Empower them by giving parents specific goals to work on at home to help improve the situation. For example, if a student struggles with reading comprehension, encourage parents to ask their child to predict what will happen while reading stories together. This approach fosters a sense of connection and shows parents that you view them as partners in helping their children excel.
5. Celebrate the positives.
Reach out to parents regularly to celebrate their children's academic or social successes in the classroom. This positive reinforcement strengthens your relationship with parents.
6. Explain the reasoning behind your educational decisions.
You are the educational expert in your classroom, making decisions about how to teach based on a variety of factors. Sharing the thought process behind your decisions with parents shows that you are confident enough in your educational methodology to share it with them, and invites parents to ask questions about what they do not understand. This also helps you avoid conversations where you feel the need to defend yourself or your teaching methods.
7. Be prepared for conversations.
Difficult conversations can easily become emotional for several reasons. Being prepared and keeping the conversation evidence-based helps focus on identifying the problem and finding appropriate support responses.
8. Evaluate the effectiveness of your communication.
After using the same communication methods for a while, reflect on how they are working and their effectiveness. Are parents getting the information they need? Are you getting what you need from them? Make changes that reflect what you have learned about effective communication practices with parents. In this case, as a teacher or specialist, you can communicate with parents through Ynmo by encouraging them to download the Ynmo Plan app, where they can communicate to share text messages, voice notes, or videos (in addition to many other features). This communication contributes to building a good relationship with parents, helping develop the student's abilities and skills.
Adapted translation
https://blog.education.com/2021/08/12/eight-parent-teacher-communication-guidelines-to-try-now/
Originally published in Arabic. This English version was produced with AI-assisted translation; the Arabic original remains the reference.
