To insure the best continued support and to guarantee that accurate information is conveyed, ongoing communication is extremely important. It is important that parents receive information frequently and in a timely manner. What have you found that works best?
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ReplyDeleteI create address books for each of my groups (3rd Reading, 3rd Math, 4th Reading, 4th Math, 5th Reading, and 5th Math). I also have two different distribution lists within each (mod and significant). I have found that emailing parents (blind copying them so their addresses don't show up for all to see) is the best form of timely communication regarding due dates and assignment clarification. To reach out to the entire school, I frequently send teachers blurbs they can cut and paste into their weekly newsletters regarding what the kids are doing in the nurturing lessons. I also include an article on general topics, such as questioning, stress, higher level thinking, and other important topics in our PTA's quarterly newsletter.
ReplyDeleteI am still figuring out what works best for me, but I have been using a newsletter for my own class as well as a progress report that is fairly simple and easy to use (just check the boxes sort of thing). The parents seem to like the contact even though I already see most of them in the mornings at the car drop off every day. I have even filled it out with one child together as we discussed which boxes needed to be checked. His motivation improved the next week. The newsletter goes home about every two weeks, and just gives updates about what we are working on and a small section on things that families can do to support the student. I also mention things that we will be doing in the near future in case a parent can contribute in some way. I hope to turn over part of the newsletter to the students in the future. I keep a copy of the newsletter in a file (electronic and paper), and collect the signed progress reports and file them by the month. I plan to start using the email plan as well. I think that is a good way to cut down on paper. I'm a disaster at the copy machine anyway.
ReplyDeleteWe have a very different demographic here at MWC. A VERY small percentage of our families have internet access, few drop their kids off at school, and many of our families are non-English speaking. I have used monthly newsletters in English as well as Spanish translations. While I also post on my teacherpage, I really have to send most everything home by paper. Has anyone with similar demographics found an alternative? Thanks!
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