Communication Powers Relationship between Home and School
September 9, 2009 - Communication is a critical part of the partnership between the classroom and home. Schools, teachers and parents are finding many different ways to keep each other informed.Elementary Schools
Chris Bonin is the PTA president at Davis Drive Elementary. Bonin says parents need information to feel involved in their child’s academic life.
“As an elementary school parent, I feel that I really, really want to be involved in my son’s education, and I find that the only way to do that is through communication with the teacher,” said Bonin. “I want to get enough information from the teacher that I feel that I know what is going on in his day.”
At the elementary school level, teachers have a number of tools they use to keep parents informed. They meet with parents. They exchange e-mail. They talk on the phone. They compile a week's worth of work and notes into weekly folders. They post information on websites. They write newsletters. Each educator creates a system to share information with their parents.
“To me, the most important one is face-to-face with the teacher,” said Bonin. “I know that is difficult, but that is my absolute favorite way to get a good feel for how my son is doing in class.”
Bonin says she relies on graded class work to track her child’s academic progress. And when the teacher sends home work that requires a signature, it helps her to feel very involved.
She says paper copies of critical documents that she will use repeatedly are important. She occasionally visits Blackboard websites established by teachers and likes e-mail for short, concise information. She says it’s helpful when teachers have a communication plan and share it with parents at the first of the year.
“I firmly believe as an elementary school parent that when I get that report card I shouldn’t be surprised,” said Bonin. “It should be pretty close to what I’ve been seeing in the class work coming home and the tests coming home. There have been occasions when I have been surprised, and it has prompted an immediate face-to-face conversation with the teacher.”
Pam Smithson is a teacher at Davis Drive Elementary. Smithson says it’s important when teachers first meet families that they put them at ease. Greeting them with a smile helps.
“I think probably the one expectation I have is that we will be able to have an honest exchange,” said Smithson. “There is a trust factor. When the parent is able to trust the teacher and trust you to do the best for their child, you are able to open up and share some things that may be touchy or may be a concern that you have not shared before.”
Smithson says an exchange of information between teacher and parent is important. “There have been times as a teacher that I have made the phone call to the parent, and I have said that Johnny is doing well at school,” said Smithson. “I’ve said how well that they have adjusted to the grade level that I teach, and I find out that it’s not so easy at home. Those are the kinds of things that we need to know.”
Smithson shares information with parents in Friday Folders and has a Blackboard website with homework assignments and announcements. She agrees that report cards should be a summation of information that parents should already know through previous communications.
Secondary Schools
By the time our children reach high school, they’ve become more independent and responsible. There’s a different kind of communication between school and home.
Debbie Kline is the mother of an Athens Drive High student and the Wake County PTA Council’s communication chair. Kline makes a point to attend the school’s open house.
“Then I can put a face with a name of that teacher and hear what that teacher expects from my child,” said Kline. “And that will give me an idea of which classes my child will need more monitoring from me.”
Kline says by the time a child reaches high school, information that helps prepare for the future becomes important.
“There are so many places that your child could be; so many decisions that they could make,” said Kline. “I want to know what kind of opportunities are available for my child, when registration is, how do I register for classes and help them ensure they are on the right track to get where they need to be by the time they graduate.”
Kline says academic progress information is important. She’s found e-mail an easy way to communicate with high school teachers about her child’s progress. She says her school does a good job of communicating through its website, the School Messenger phone message system and partnering with the PTA who uses a listserve to provide news to parents.
“Just make sure to let me know using the channels you are already using, and if it’s critical, call me on my cell phone,” said Kline. “I’m lucky because my school does these things.”
Kline encourages parents not to be shy about asking questions when they are confused about things.
“I would say if you don’t know the answer to something, check the school’s website, and if you can’t figure that out, call your principal’s office and ask them where to go to get that,” said Kline “If they hear the same question over and over, they will probably address it in some communication or add it to their website. And if you don’t understand, probably someone else doesn’t either.”
William Crockett is principal of Athens Drive High. Crockett says faculty and staff work hard to create learning opportunities for students and it’s important for families to be aware of what’s available.
“We want parent involvement,” said Crockett. “The more parents know about what’s going on at school, the more opportunities they will have for being involved in school. It’s important that schools be proactive in creating opportunities for parents to be involved and for giving them the information that they need so that they can access some of the things that are going on at school and know what’s going on with their kids.”
Crockett said that Athens Drive High uses the School Messenger phone system, Student Parent Access Network and the PTA listserve as communication tools.
- School Messenger phone system – “This is a wonderful tool for communicating with parents to give them information about activities, special things that are going on at school.”
- Student Parent Access Network, or SPAN – “This is where parents can access a lot of the data sources on their students. They can get information about grades, attendance, report card information when they go on SPAN. We promote that to parents. We want parents to access SPAN. We want to give them all the information that they can sign up and be registered on span. With the faculty, we really emphasize keeping SPAN current so that when parents go there, they’re getting up to date information.”
- PTA listserve – “This is a very useful tool in communicating with parents. We will have e-mail blasts every day to give them some of the announcements of activities that are going on at school, give them information about scholarship opportunities for students. Our students and staff will from time to time receive awards. We announce that through our PTA listserve.”
School District
When it comes to obtaining information about the school district, Klein turns to wcpss.net.
“I go to the Wake County Public School System website and sign up for all of the e-mail alerts,” said Kline. “I know about school closings. I know about things that are happening around the district. I know about news that comes out of the board meetings.”
Michael Evans is the WCPSS Chief Communications Officer. Evans says it’s important for the school system to communicate with parents.
“I think it’s our responsibility to try to put as much information out to help parents advocate for their children, understand the policies and procedures of the public school system today and try to do it in such a way that it is easy for them to understand,” said Evans. “Much of what we do is very jargon driven, very specific, laden by state statutes and federal laws. What we try to do is make it as easy as possible for parents to understand what we’re trying to accomplish, engage them in such a way that they can support our mission and ultimately help their children.”
The school district provides information using the Internet, e-newsletters, video, audio podcast and traditional print publications.
“Oftentimes people get their information from a variety of different ways, so it is incumbent upon us to build a variety of tactics to reach out to parents,” said Evans. “It’s using a lot of different technologies in different ways trying to say the same things over and over again so that no matter how you get the information, you’re getting the same information in the format that’s easy for you to understand.”
Evans says the school district provides information through traditional media and through the use of technology
“We’re trying to bridge the gap between the cutting edge technology and traditional and create a mix that accommodates as many people as we can while being very cost effective,” said Evans. “We don’t have large budgets. We don’t have the resources that traditional communications and PR departments have in the private sector, for instance. So we need to be highly efficient in how we do it and try to re-purpose and re-package existing communications over and over again to try reach as many people as we can.”
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