Partnering with Parents for Student Success

Working with Parents and Guardians
This briefing document reviews key themes and strategies for successful teacher-parent/guardian collaboration based on excerpts.
Main Themes:
The Importance of Family Engagement: Family engagement plays a crucial role in student success. When families are involved, students feel supported and motivated to learn.
Diverse Family Structures and Circumstances: Teachers need to recognize the diverse family structures and circumstances of their students. Some families face significant challenges that impact their ability to be actively involved in school.
Building Positive Relationships: Building positive relationships with parents and guardians is essential. Regular communication about both positive achievements and areas of concern fosters trust and collaboration.
Important Ideas and Facts:
Understanding "Parent, Guardian, and Family": The term "parents and guardians" encompasses various family structures, including single parents, grandparents, foster parents, and other relatives or unrelated caregivers. Recognizing this diversity is crucial for creating a welcoming and inclusive classroom environment.
"As you get to know your students, you’ll come to realize that students have a lot of different living situations."
Finding Preferred Contact Methods: Teachers should determine each family's preferred method of communication (text, email, phone call, etc.) at the beginning of the year through a survey. This ensures clear and effective communication.
"Surveying your students’ parents and guardians at the beginning of the year [...] and finding out how they prefer to be contacted can give you a big advantage when you need to contact them throughout the year."
Sharing Positive News: Don't just contact families when there are problems. Regularly sharing positive news about a student's progress, good deeds, and achievements helps build solid relationships and motivates students.
"By reaching out to deliver positive news occasionally, you build trust, rapport, and a relationship with parents and guardians."
Using the Power of Questioning:
Giving Parents/Guardians Questions to Ask: Provide specific questions about lessons that families can ask their children at home to stimulate discussion and reinforce learning.
Giving Students Questions to Ask at Home: Encourage students to ask their families questions about class topics, fostering family conversations and connecting learning to real-life experiences.
Seeking Advice from Parents/Guardians: When addressing challenging behaviors or situations, approach parents/guardians by saying, "I wanted to get your advice on something." This collaborative approach reduces defensiveness and focuses on finding solutions together.
Asking Parents/Guardians How They're Doing: Demonstrating genuine concern for families' well-being builds rapport and strengthens the teacher-parent partnership. Acknowledging the challenges of parenting in today's world shows empathy and understanding.
Inviting Family Involvement: Provide opportunities for families to engage in their children's learning without creating pressure or making it feel like an obligation. Share links to videos, articles, online games, or invite them to be guest speakers based on their expertise.
"Using the words 'I'd like to invite you to…' is a welcoming, nonthreatening way to provide parents and guardians with an opportunity to engage with and support their children."
Empowering Families with Teaching Strategies: Introduce families to simple teaching strategies like "think time" and "I do, we do, you do." This helps them support their children's learning at home and feel like active partners in the educational process.
Conclusion:
Building strong relationships with families is an ongoing process that requires effort and sensitivity. By implementing the strategies outlined in this briefing document, teachers can foster a collaborative environment where families feel valued, informed, and empowered to support their children's learning and success.