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Supporting Families in Varying Learning Environments, References,…

- - - - Discuss contact methods with each parent at the beginning of the school year. Use their preferences to create personal and classroom parent communication plans
      - Share positive comments you have about your students with their parents. When they have questions later in the school year, they’ll feel more comfortable coming to you
      - Make parent-teacher conferences a goal-making discussion rather than an assessment or lecture
      - Be proactive with letting parents know about any concerns you have about their child. That way, you can all work together to find a solution
      - Document your communication efforts to keep track of what works best for each family
  - - - Be warm.
        When you see parents in person, smile, shake hands, and make eye contact.
      - Make parents feel valuable.
        Encourage them to participate and share their strengths.
      - Be positive.
        When talking to a student’s parent or guardian, start out by saying something positive about him or her.
      - Communicate often
        After you parent-teacher meeting continue to communicate regularly with parents and they won’t be on high alert when they hear from you.
      - Ask questions (and listen!)
        Ask follow-up questions. You’ll be surprised how much you can learn about not only your students, but their families, too.
      - Don’t make assumptions
        Don’t assume a student lives with two parents or any parent at all. Also don’t assume that English is a parent or guardian’s native language. Be mindful of the fact that families come in all shapes, sizes, and backgrounds.
      - Student Portfolio
        Make sure that you come to the meeting with work samples for the parents to show what their child has done in the classroom to backup any claims for the student.
    - - Research shows that children whose parents pitch in at school have a better attitude and higher academic achievement.
      - Teachers who have classroom support do their job better
      - Parents who participate in the classroom are better equipped to support their child's schoolwork.
      - 5 Teacher Tips for Improving Your Parent Volunteer Experience
        
        Open New Communication Channels
        
        Be Clear About Where You Most Need Parents to Help
        3.Engage Working Parents
        
        Plan for Parent Volunteers
        
        Show Appreciation
- - - - How do you feel your child is adjusting to distance learning and being away from the classroom?
      - How is your family adjusting to the changes?
      - How many hours per day does the student have access to a digital device and internet?
      - Are multiple family members sharing that device, and if so, is this causing challenges?
      - Is there anything, in particular, I can do to help support your child during this time?
  - - - Text: Instruct parents to text you as needed in an emergency. Be sure to set expectations for what types of situations are considered an emergency.
      - Weekly office hours: Parents can schedule one-on-one time to ask questions to their children.
      - Email: Parents can email questions that are highly specific to their children and only require a short response. Teachers should provide parents with an expected response time for these types of questions.
      - Virtual Q&A forum: Multiple parents can join to ask questions that may be relevant for the entire class, keeping you from answering the same question over and over and allowing parents to learn from each other’s experiences.