Here in the United States, a new school year is beginning. As teachers, many of us approach the new school year with nervousness as well as excitement. We envision what our class will be like and set intentions and goals for ourselves and our class. One intention I’m setting for myself this year is to be consistent with my communication with families.
In my opinion, maintaining consistent communication with families is essential to student success. Consistent communication bridges the gap between school and home. Bridging this gap builds trust between families and teachers. Teachers, remember that parents are leaving their precious children with you for most of their day. Parents/guardians, please remember that teachers are doing everything they can to help your child grow. Trusting each other and communicating will grow young scholars.
When teachers and families communicate and build trust, sharing knowledge about students becomes easier. Families know that their children are working on a variety of things at school. But, when teachers shares notes, pictures, and videos of what their children are doing, it builds a connection that families may not ordinarily feel during the day. Families feel included! They are able to ask their children specific questions about school at the end of the day. They can share the note/picture/video with their children and have an honest moment of connection. The more we do this as teachers, the more comfortable families will feel to include you in what is happening in your students’ lives outside of the classroom. We all know that students have rich, full lives outside of our classrooms, but sometimes, the full extent of that richness doesn’t make an impact until a parent comes to us with knowledge and information. This knowledge will help us as teachers to make choices for how we interact with our students.
With trust and partnership established, having those challenging conversations becomes less daunting. Communicating that a child may need more support is never easy. It’s hard to tell a parent that their child is not meeting expectations. It’s hard for a parent to express a concern to a teacher. Ultimately, the goal is to have school and family support the young scholar to reach their maximum potential. For this to happen, teachers and families need to communicate consistently. If you’re a fan of team sports, then you recognize that the teams that succeed are the teams that communicate effectively.
I encourage everyone reading this — teacher or family member — to set the intention to be an effective communicator. However you choose to communicate — notes, newsletters, emails, texts, classroom communication apps, etc. — just do it consistently. Build those trusting partnerships. Your students may never thank you for it, but their success will be all the thanks you’ll need.
If you are looking to add some simple activities to your classroom or want to send activities home, please feel free to check out my TpT store PinaRose Education or my Etsy shop PinaRose Creations. Your support is very much appreciated!
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