Photo of Lisa Taylor
Lisa.Taylor Communication Tools, Communication with Parents and Guardians, General

Communication with Parents – Part 1

Communication with parents/guardians is not just a courtesy, it is a legal requirement as part of being a teacher. How you communicate with parents/guardians depends a lot on the content of the message.

Sometimes information is for all parents. This can go out in a newsletter format. Be careful about setting up unreasonable expectations of yourself around how often your newsletters come out. If you start the year sending them every Monday, parents will start to depend on seeing them on Mondays and you will preset that expectation that they will continue to come weekly, even on weeks when there isn’t a lot to share. Don’t make work for yourself, try to make your newsletters (should you choose to send them home) more sporadic so you don’t set yourself up with these expectations that you are sometimes unable to maintain.

If you choose to go digital, make sure you provide a non-digital option for families who do not have access. If you have families who do not speak English at home, you may want to speak with your admin about resources available to you in your board for translating some of the essential information to ensure all families are getting information equitably.

Deciding on a digital format can be challenging. Many teachers choose to set up a classroom website or blog, which allows them to post information. Be careful about allowing 2-way communication happen on the page without moderation. The last thing you want is your page to become a place for parents to start complaining or chatting about unrelated items. In my experience, using the Blog format (Blogger through Google was the format I used) is a great way to share resources and activities. There is a moderate option in setting so students and parents can comment but they come to you first and you can decide if they get posted. Sometimes a comment might not need to be posted (i.e., “can you please call me tomorrow to discuss the report card?”), whereas, others add to the value of the resources and information shared.

This link (http://taylor2s.blogspot.ca/2014/03/it-is-certain-you-will-love-these-games.html) is to my classroom blog that I used last year. I shared the link on every paper newsletter I sent home, tweeted it, wrote it in agendas, had the students start there at the beginning of each session on the computers in the class – we used it all the time! My class was used to the site and they would go home and share it with their family. I could then use it share information with the families. (I went on leave at the end of the year and was even able to invite my LTO onto the site as a guest blogger to post while I was away!).

If you choose to email your newsletter, send it as a PDF and CC your principal. This adds an extra level of transparency. Be advised however, that when it is sent as an email, it is easy for a parent to hit reply and ask a question, make a comment, etc (i.e., should we send extra mittens that day just in case? – something that they can figure out on their own, or put in the agenda if it is really a burning question). Make sure you send it during normal school hours (8-5 is a good general rule of thumb) and be careful not to engage in casual conversation over email. You need to maintain professional boundaries when dealing with parents at all times. With email, it is easy to get casual.

Communication is an essential part of teaching. When you are communicating with all of the parents in your class, you can be more general in your approach. Next week, I will look at more specific communication tools for when you want to contact individual parents.

Photo of Mike Beetham
Mike Beetham Before School Starts, Challenging Topics, Communication with Parents and Guardians, Differentiated Instruction, Learning About Your Students, Professional Learning and Growth, Report Cards

IEP Creation and Implementation

What Is an Individual Education Plan?

An IEP is a written plan describing the special education program and/or services required by a particular student. It identifies learning expectations that are modified from or alternative to the expectations given in the curriculum policy document for the appropriate grade and subject or course, and/or any accommodations and special education services needed to assist the student in achieving his or her learning expectations. For additional information on creating or understanding the IEP, use the following Ontario Ministry of Education link:

http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/general/elemsec/speced/iep/iep.html?view=print

The IEP can have a variety of focuses from academics, accommodations to behaviour and/or social skills. It is essential for students who have been identified as exceptional through the IPRC process. They are also used for students to whom the board feels require special education programs or support to meet curriculum expectations. The IEP is developed within the first 5 weeks of school. It is critical for teachers to seek out as much data about a student as possible (report cards, previous IEP, formal and informal assessments, OSR and any other diagnostic assessments that you are able to complete with a student).

The IEP is drafted by the classroom teacher (usually with support of a school’s Special Education Resource Teacher) and then shared with the parent/guardian for their feedback and finally signed and becomes the legal document by which a student is assessed. It is a detailed document that requires a lot of time to create. It is revisited after each assessment period and adjusted according the progress or lack of progress a student has made toward the target expectations.

This is a critical component to helping each and every child be successful as it epitomizes the need to teach to each child’s needs and not just to a curriculum standard. I highly advise that teachers take the time to familiarize themself with the IEP process.

Shawna Rothgeb-Bird Communication Tools, Communication with Parents and Guardians

Communicating with Parents and Guardians

I consider communicating with parents to be one of the most important parts of my job. I won’t lie and pretend that I have it all figured out (and I certainly didn’t in my first year), because I find there’s only so much time in the day and sometimes that message I meant to send home didn’t quite make it out, but I have learned a few things over the past few years.

Here are a few of my “rules to live by” when it comes to communicating with parents:

 

Pick a system and stick to it!

My first year, I didn’t have any kind of system. I jumped into someone else’s class to cover a parental leave and just followed the minimalist system the previous teacher had put into place. It was short and sweet: students write in their agendas, I sign to show that I’ve seen it, parents sign to show that they’ve seen it, the end. It meant notes never went unnoticed.

About a month in, I kind of stopped following this system. There wasn’t any reason for stopping, other than my own absentminded nature. I missed a few notes from parents (which weren’t incredibly important, else they would have called the office, but they were worthy of my time just the same). By the end of the year, I wished I’d stuck with the system for my sake, for parents’ sake, and for the sake of my students.

My second year, I was determined to keep up with communication. I thought I would be tech savvy, have a blog, keep parents up to date every week with what we were doing in class… and it was GREAT until our job action started and I had to stop my blog. Parents were confused. They missed the information. I tried (and failed) to have my students adjust to a new system (the agenda one from the year before) but so many had misplaced their agendas by that point that it was pointless.

My third year, I started a blog again. No job action! I can do this! Only no, I couldn’t, because my personal life got crazy. Unless I was doing something in-class, I wasn’t getting it done. My blog fell apart a few months into the school year and again, trying to change halfway through just didn’t work for my students.

Fast forward to this year. I’m trying the agenda thing this time. No newsletters, no blogs, just straight-up agendas. Kids write down the relevant info, I sign off on the agendas before they leave, parents sign each night – done. I built 10 minutes into my day to accommodate this. So far, so good.

 

Communicate regularly, not just when there’s an issue.

Too often, parents only hear from teachers when something has happened at school. It naturally makes parents defensive when hearing that it’s a teacher calling, and that doesn’t help your relationship with them. I realize that contacting every single parent in your class on a super regular basis would be difficult, but I don’t mean you need to call all of them every week. Here are some things I and my colleagues do to keep regular communication lines open:

– Pick a few students a week and highlight something they did. I try to write a short, sweet, one-sentence update in about eight kids’ agendas a week. That’s fewer than two per day! For example, today we had a hip hop workshop and I noticed a few students doing a really phenomenal job and having lots of fun. I wrote a short note to their parents about it to let them know that I noticed their child participating actively. They always appreciate it, and it gives them an “in” to talk to their child about what’s going on at school.

– Call before school starts! My grade partner actually calls all of his students’ families the week before school starts to talk about the Middle French Immersion program, find out about their goals for their child’s education, etc.

 

Invite parents into the classroom to see their children in action.

Throughout the year, I do a lot of small presentations and activities in-class with my students, especially at the beginning of the year. Virtually any time students are going to be doing a presentation in front of the class, I invite their parents in to watch the presentation (and any others happening that day). Not only do they get to see their child speaking in French, but they understand my feedback after in a way they might not have otherwise. When I say, “It seemed like ________ was very nervous when presenting,” they know what I’m talking about because they were there.

Parents, in general, are very respectful of your students’ learning time. I’ve never had a parent try to speak to me after the presentations about their child’s progress or insist on staying. They come in, watch the presentation, and leave – but they leave feeling like they were involved in their child’s education.

 

Take photos of students working and share them with parents.

I love technology. I take photos of my students working on things and upload them to Google Drive, then share the photos with my students. They can show their parents the photos at home. They like seeing themselves – especially when they’re playing ukulele or doing drama – and parents like to see what they’re up to. Because Google Drive is password protected, I have never had parents be concerned about privacy, but they always have the opportunity to ask me not to share photos of their child.

 

“AMA”

Something I’ve started this year is what I call my “AMA” or “Ask Me About”. Lots of teachers do this and it’s a GREAT way to get parents to ask their children about what’s going on at school. On our agenda board, we have “Ask me about…” written permanently up there. I change it every few days (not every day) to reflect what we’ve been learning in class. Last week we learned about prepositions in French, so one day it was “Ask me about… les prépositions.” When we started learning how to play the ukulele, that was our AMA.

The AMA is great because it gives parents a specific question to ask instead of asking their child, “What did you do at school today?” Kids can’t respond with, “Oh… nothing.” Parents know that if it was the AMA, their child should be able to tell them about it. If he/she can’t, there’s a problem. Not only does it engage parents, but it helps me to know if there are any major errors in understanding, because parents will come back and flag it for me if they asked their child and he/she said, “Oh man, we were doing that today but I have NO IDEA what we were doing.”

 

Communication is vital. You want parents to know what’s happening in the classroom. You want parents to know how their children are doing. Nothing should be a surprise – not the topics being studied in class, not their child’s progress, not whether or not their child is enjoying something. Invite them in. Chat with them in the hallway or when you see them after school. Engage them.

When parents are invested in their child’s education, their child is a lot more invested, too… whether they like it or not!

Alison.Board Building Inclusion, Equity, General, Inquiry, Integration, Learning About Your Students, Learning in a Real Life Context, Literacy

“I Know Here”

At one of our first staff meetings this year, we had a discussion about building community in our school. What is our community? How do we see ourselves? Many of the teachers had a difficult time describing our school community. We are in a building with additions that have been attached on various levels, resulting in doors and stairs that physically separate the classrooms into small groupings of three or four to a floor. The community outside of the school is also diverse. There are few apartment buildings as well as a neighbourhood of homes, a park, and a plaza of stores.

To discover our community through student inquiry, all the classes read the book I Know Here by Laurel Croza.

 

We then asked the students to take a similar approach and define their community with words and representations. The results were outstanding. Every age from Kindergarten to grade 8 was able to identify what made the community unique and they presented their own perspective. To extend that sense of our community defined by student voice, we set up a literacy night at the school to showcase the student work. It included descriptive writing, drawings, 3D representations, photos and videos.

The experience was rewarding for the teachers, students, and parents of our school community. The work was meaningful and the children were engaged. It was a topic that was accessible to all and promoted equity throughout our school. The children were also able to share new insight and point of view with us, the educators.

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Erin.Grewar Communication Tools, Communication with Parents and Guardians, General

Meet the Teacher Night – Introducing Yourself to Parents

Seeing their children’s classroom environment and meeting their teacher (who spends the largest chunk of the day with them) is a top priority for many parents. As a parent myself, it’s important for me to put a face to the name and to get a read on how their teacher’s personality and how they interact with their students. Considering Parent’s Night from this perspective inspired me to vary my approach this year.

As a non-homeroom teacher with no classroom for parents to visit, I decided to insert myself as a guest speaker into the presentations of the various homeroom teachers. This has the advantage of ensuring a larger audience and giving more credibility to Core French as a subject.

In terms of content, I decided to focus less on the formal curriculum side of things and more on the different way French is being taught (once the new ministry document is released) with an emphasis on oral communication and the use of authentic texts. I also included an explanation of how a typical lesson was structured and went on to finish with a brief overview of some useful online resources that students would find useful at home.

Personally, I always like to leave parents with some kind of written handout (see attachement). Likewise, I also tried to keep the tone upbeat. At this stage, I think that both students and parents alike need to see French in a more positive light and see the fun to be had with learning a second (or third or fourth) language.

Alison.Board Celebrating Success, Communication Tools, Communication with Parents and Guardians, General

End of Year Celebration

To celebrate the end of the year in our Full-Day Kindergarten classroom, we opened our doors for parents and guardians to share our successes. We scheduled it for a half hour in the morning at entry time. The children helped plan for the celebration by taking home invitations, creating a welcome sign for our door with the word welcome or hello in various languages that reflect the home languages of our students. The children also were invited to wear traditional clothing that reflected their heritage on the day of the open house. We were thrilled to have so many parents come to our casual event. They sat around the room and watched our morning circle – as we always start the day with sharing how we feel. Then the children moved to the tables where their writing portfolios and art folders were displayed. They were so proud to show their work! Then the children moved around the classroom as guides, showing their parents their work that was displayed and their favourite learning centres.

In the afternoon, one student drew a picture of her and her mother and wrote,”Today is Monday. That’s the day when we show and share…” She said she was happy to show and share her work and classroom with her mother.

Photo of Roz Geridis
Roz.Geridis Building Inclusion, Communication with Parents and Guardians, Making a Difference Through Education

Making a Difference

Recently, our school went to an overnight outdoor education centre. Parent/student/teacher relationships are developed and also expanded during these types of trips. I had three students with special circumstances. All were brought to my attention before we left for the trip. I had one student who had separation anxiety, another had social issues and a special family event during the trip, and the third was a student with Aspergers and mom was concerned about the socialization/routine for her.

 

Although most of my time was occupied with these three students, I still feel my time was spent in a very productive way. One night, I spent the time helping a student get to sleep. Distracting her thoughts, staying near her, making sure she was ok. She made it through the night. The second night, she didn’t need me at all. When we returned, the parents were very appreciative and gave me a very nice note and flowers. The flowers were a very nice thought and I really appreciate them but the note I will keep forever. The parent also went to my administration team and spoke to them letting them know how appreciative the student and parents were and what a difference I made. It was a very kind gesture which will always be remembered!

 

I had another parent who also thanked me through the student and with a small taken of appreciation. Her child ended up getting sick and her mother was very happy that I was there with her until her mother came to get her. The last parent showed up at the school and was all smiles. Again, I received another thank you.

 

We may not get thank yous for all we do but remember we make the difference in students’ lives. Whether it is a child who feels included, another who is happy to be part of an event, or the student who feels s/he has learned something new – all it takes is one effort to make a difference and change that child’s life for the better.

 

 

Alison.Board Assessment, Communication with Parents and Guardians, General, Report Cards

Reporting for JKs

The Junior Kindergarten Summary is an important document, as it is the first formal written assessment that parents may receive about their child. In saying that, there also should be no surprises when they read the report. Part of the reporting process in Kindergarten is to provide ongoing assessment in an informal basis when necessary through notes, phone calls, or updates during face-to-face interaction at entry or dismissal times. If you feel that a report you have written may have information that would be of specific concern to the parent, you may want to give a “heads up” phone call before your reports go home in February. If however, you have shared information with parents/guardians regarding a child’s struggles or difficulties in adjusting to the program, then the report will be of no surprise and act as a record of the child’s development at this time, which may be referred to if struggles continue in the next year or two.

The Summary includes three broad areas to provide information for:

1) Interests and Strengths – Try to individualize reports as much as possible. In this section you want to highlight what the child can do (not what they can’t do compared to others). Qualifiers on scripted sentences will not work, as each child will have different interests and different strengths. Suggestions for this section include mentioning the learning centres that the child most enjoys, the ways in which the child contributes to the class, and what attributes the child brings to either group discussions or play.

2) Development and Learning – In this section I would suggest providing assessment on the child’s development according to any of the six areas of development: Personal and Social Development, Language, Mathematics, Science & Technology, Health & Physical Activity, and the Arts (see http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/eng/curriculum/elementary/kindergarten_english_june3.pdf). Remember, you are stating where the student is based on the outcomes/expectations at the end of a two-year program. In this section it is a good idea to draw on specific examples of a child’s learning by quoting what they have said, or referring to something they did or created.

3) Planning for Further Learning – Here you can provide two short paragraphs. One for the planning that the Kindergarten teacher/team will implement to support or extend the child’s learning, and another short paragraph to suggest practical ways that the parents/guardians can help the child at home. Rather than suggest “reading to your child” (which we always want to suggest), you can add specific ideas like counting the floors on an elevator ride to your apartment; counting cheerios at breakfast, learning the sounds of letters on cereal boxes, learning how to write the names of family members. These suggestion may sound obvious to you, but they may be more useful to the parent than suggesting they work on letters and numbers with their child at home.

When you re-read your finished reports, it is important to get a sense of who the child is – including their strengths and needs. It is also a good idea to add an encouraging line at the end of the report, noting the child’s efforts and accomplishments in their adjustment to Junior Kindergarten.

Katie Pryde Celebrating Success, Communication with Parents and Guardians, Interviews, Learning About Your Students

Student Led Conferences

The past 2 weeks, I have been preparing my students for Student-Led Conferences, since the Progress Reports were sent home, and conferences were set for this past Friday.

I have never done or seen Student-Led Conferences before, and what an amazing experience it was. Yes, it does take a lot of prepareation for the students, but after a lot of feedback, the parents really enjoyed it.

What Are Student-Led Conferences?
Instead of the formal Parent-Teacher Interviews, my school board has taken the approach to doing Student-Led Conferences, which enables the student to take full responsibility for their learning, and they choose things to share with their parents that they are most proud of and some things they feel they need to work on. They also choose a Learning Skill that they think is the best, as well as a Learning Skill that they need to improve upon.

Preparing My Students for the Conferences:
Two weeks prior to the Student-Led Conferences, we began preparing ourselves for these conferences. It does take a lot of time and preparation, but the outcome is wonderful! First, I laid out all the work my students have done so far. I explained to students that they would look through their work and choose 2 things they were most proud of (could include anything but most were Social Studies Tests, Math Tests, Journal Entries, and Daily 5 Work), and 1 thing they felt they needed to improve upon. Once they chose their 3 items, they were given 2 “star” papers where they wrote why they were most proud of this pieve of work and why (they had to be specific-because they looked at the Word Wall to help them spell, they studied really hard for a test, or they used the Success Criteria to help them in their writing…). Then, students were given one “Next Steps” paper where they wrote about why they feel they needed to improve upon that piece of work, and what they can do next time (use the Editing Checklist, use the Work Wall, etc.).

As a class, we then reviewed the Learning Skills and what each skill means. We brainstormed (and reviewed) some examples about what each Learning Skill looks like here at school. Then students chose which Learning Skill they felt was their best, and explained why using examples, as well as choosing a Learning Skill that they needed to work on, and explained what they can do to improve upon this Learning Skill.

Once all the writing was complete, I created a script that students practiced so they knew exactly what to say, and when to show/explain their work. For many days, students would practice reading this script and showing their work independently, to a partner, in a group, and even their Reading Buddies. We encouraged students to take on different roles as well, to prepare them (i.e. one student would be a mom, one would be a dad, and the other would present to them).

When it came time for the Student-Led Conferences, the students ran the show. They took full responsibility, and THEY were the ones explaining to parents why they need to improve upon the work they chose, and even asked how their parents could support them at home. I feel that the student saying this to their parents is much more powerful than if I were the one saying it. Parents really enjoyed seeing their child’s work, and were excited to come up with ways that they could support their child at home. Overall, the Student-Led Conferences were a huge success at my school, and it was really great for the students to be so enthusiastic about the work and learning they have done thus far!

Student-Led Conference Script:

Introductions: “Hello, Ms. Pryde. This is my _______ and my _________.”

Explanation about the Conference: “I am taking responsibility for my learning. Today, I will be showing you the accomplishments I have done so far at school. I will also be showing some work that I feel I need to improve upon, and will be asking for your input about how you can help me in reaching my goals at home.”

Showing of the Work: “This is one of my best pieces of work because __________________.

I also chose this piece of work as something that I am most proud of because __________________.

I feel that I could improve upon this piece of work because _____________. I think I can improve on it by __________________________________.

I think my best Learning Skill is ________________________ because _______________________________________________.

The Learning Skill that I think I can improve on is _______________ because _______________________________________________.”

Conclusion: “Thank you for coming to my conference. Is there any questions or comments for myself or Ms. Pryde?”

 

Alison.Board Communication with Parents and Guardians, Interviews

Preparing for Interviews

 

The interviews provide an opportunity for parents to meet the teacher, see the classroom, and ask questions about their child’s progress. It is also an opportunity for the teacher to ask questions that will provide a better background understanding of the child that is struggling in his/her adjustment to the Kindergarten program. You may want to know if the child has siblings, has opportunities for play dates, or gets enough sleep.

To prepare for interviews, I do the following:

  • review anecdotal notes, highlighting any positive comments as well as any concerns
  • look through examples of child’s work, and have it on hand to refer to during the interview
  • have a copy of the SK report
  • make note of something positive to start the interview, and something to work on with the child to end the interview.

I like to use a basic notepad and dedicate a page to each student. At the top of the page I write their name and time of interview. I copy the points that I highlighted from my anecdotal records to ensure that I can easily refer to them during the interview. (When you get in a roll of interview after interview without a break, your memory should not be relied on!) I then add parent/guardian comments from the interview and next steps for myself to follow up with. I can then refer to this notepad when I am measuring progress in the next couple of months.

Since JK students do not receive a report at this time, a half-page checklist can be created as a reference for parents. List items like; can recognize first name, can write first name, can count to 10, can follow routines independently, etc. This can also be created for your own use to guide the interview and be kept as a reference to see progress when you write the JK reports in January.

Interviews can be difficult if you need to address challenges that the child is experiencing. A good way to approach these interview is by starting with your observations in the classroom, then asking the parents/guardians, “What are you seeing at home?” Often, parents see the same behaviours or have similar struggles, which they will expand on when the discussion is directed in this way.

You may want to set up a desk or table in the hall for parents that are waiting for their interview. It can have a clock (set to the same time as your clock in the classroom), resources for parents that you may find applicable from public health, the public library, or a list of websites that you think would be beneficial. This is also an opportunity to display a project, photos (even a digital photo frame!), or some form of documentation that the parents can enjoy while waiting for your interview.