LEADERSHIP COACHING: FAMILY COMMUNICATION
I’ve never liked the tag, “Hard to reach parents.” Rather, how are we as educators reflecting on our own practices so we are not “Hard to reach?” How are we intentionally building a sense of partnership with families so they want to connect with us? It is difficult to argue the return on investment when we are intentional in our commitment to connecting with families, such as improved attendance, better grades, and positive changes in attitudes and behaviors. And when those efforts are sustained consistently over time, it builds trust. I am convinced that when schools invest in this effort, not only do students benefit, but so do staff and families. Therefore, it is imperative that we create a sense of togetherness and commit to providing staff the necessary training, resources and most importantly, the time so that we can be purposeful in our approach to partnering with our most valuable resource - the family unit.
I recall sitting in an interview once and asking a teacher candidate the following question, “What prompts you to contact the parent or guardian of a student?" This question often elicits a safe response by candidates that includes contacting a parent when a student has either become a discipline issue in the class or is unwilling to do work. Just as predictable is usually the follow up comment about how they also like to contact parents when the student does something positive. But this gentleman offered up a comment that I had never heard before during an interview. “I am not going to lie. Having to call parents scares me.” I wasn’t prepared for his response, but I will tell you that upon reflection I appreciated his honesty. Frankly, I am not sure why I felt surprised. My experience has shown me that effectively communicating with families is one of the most challenging expectations to meet by teachers, directors, coaches and administration alike. To assume that educators enter the profession with the necessary skills to effectively communicate with parents/guardians is at best an oversight on our part, especially if those calls require us to express a concern about a student to a parent.
Each week I share 1 Reflection, 2 Ideas, and 1 Resource for you to consider that I hope will encourage you to explore new and better practices in your daily work. My aspirations are to support you and others in developing your skills and shifting your thinking so you will invest in your own development and maybe, just maybe I can inspire you to want to live your excellence so you can bring your best self to school every day!
Live your excellence…
Jimmy
Family Communication: 121
1 REFLECTION
When parents/guardians don't come to open house, parent conferences or a school meeting don’t assume that it means they don't care about their child's education. There are many parents/guardians who are working third shift tonight, taking care of a sick relative, sitting at the kitchen table reviewing their student's work, or reading their child a bedtime story. Always remember that parents and guardians are doing the best they know how.
2 IDEAS
So here are a few ideas to consider to try and improve our communication with the very people we should be aiming to connect with on a more regular basis in order to foster a more trusting home-school relation.
Send a personal postcard, note, letter, or e-mail to every student from every one of your teachers before the first day of school with a welcoming message.
Allow every parent to receive a personal phone call from at least one of their child’s teacher(s) and include a positive message about their student. Staff works together to divide up student contact information to ensure everyone receives a call.
Teachers and administrators personally call parents anytime an email communication does not receive a response rather than assume a parent/guardian did not care enough to respond. Assumptions should remain positive by believing that parents/guardians never received the initial email or simply forgot to respond and will appreciate a follow up.
Require all teacher prep programs and cooperating teachers to model and coach their student teachers on a regular basis so parent communication becomes something to look forward to rather than something that is feared or dreaded.
School administrators assign every teacher a communication coach to model and mentor how to make home calls that leave parents feeling like they have a school advocate to support them and their child.
Teachers and administrators commit to trying to resolve student infractions with the student first before involving a parent (immediate parent involvement would be determined by the severity of the infraction). By first revisiting expectations to students and giving them an opportunity to correct their own behavior, we give them personal ownership and model fairness before involving a higher authority.
Teachers reach out to their administration and ask for assistance with challenging situations rather than avoid calling home. Avoiding communicating with parents/guardians regardless of the concern is never a good practice. Seek support of your administration.
Encourage every staff member to keep a log of calls made home in order to use this information to personalize their relationships with families rather than require teachers to submit documentation. We want our staff to want to call home so requiring staff to submit logs to administration only serves to perpetuate a culture of mistrust rather than cultivate a community of trusted professionals. Let’s not put staff in a position to “check off the box” that they completed this expectation.
View early release and staff in-service days as opportunities to intentionally focus your discussions on the importance of connecting with all parents, sharing effective strategies to support each other and then providing staff time to make positive calls home.
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Take Items #2 and #9 from above one step further and ask staff to document the parent responses. At your next faculty meeting place your teachers in small groups and allow them to share the list of responses with their table teams as a way to celebrate your collective great work! Curate all responses and place them on strips of paper and pull a couple out of a box before every meeting moving forward to remind staff of the impact one positive phone call can have on a family member.
At the end of the day, the best home-school communication is initiated by school personnel who are sincere in their desire to approach each caretaker as a true partner. When this partnership is grounded in a genuine way between teachers and administration, we will no longer need to be scared to call home. There is no need to be scared anymore. Will you accept the challenge this week of making at least two positive calls home until all families have been contacted?
I promise I won’t even ask you to submit your log.
1 RESOURCE
I thought I would bring some humor to this week's resource. I hope you enjoy a laugh or two.
Things You Only Say In Remote Teaching