Communication with Families Susie Fabian

Overview Forms of communication Why is effective communication important? Helpful tools, tips, techniques Troubleshooting: Issues do come up!

Activate your background knowledge by journaling When you have seen your mentor communicating with families? What else do you already know about this topic? \

When have you seen your mentor communicate with families?

Times to communicate with families... First day of school information Reminders/Rules Monthly update - units of study Special events - celebrations, parties, field trips etc. One-on-one conversations Communication throughout the year using a variety of strategies Find out your school’s policy and expectations

Why is communication with families important? Collaboration Developing a shared understanding Creating trust, building confidence

Positive results from effective communication: Discovering families’ strengths Communication = Increased parent participation Research has shown that parent participation is linked with student achievement, development and social adjustment. Involvement = better teacher evaluations and higher ratings in program success.

Which method of communication would you use and why? Channels of Communication

Ways to Communicate

Communication Tools (Get them all at the beginning of the year) Class website Phone Text messages In person Paper copies might work better for families Language awareness (what is the family’s primary language?) Knowing your families is key

Classroom blog

Shutterfly Classroom Site Photos and Videos Contacts Sign-ups Calendar Photos and Videos Contacts Sign-ups Calendar

Remind.com *over age 13 Send students* homework assignments, links to outside resources like articles, videos, and more. Send parents permission slips, classroom documents straight to their phones.

Edmodo

s No school tomorrow Friday, February 3. Have a wonderful weekend! :) If you child has any music for the arts festival. David would like the CDs tomorrow if possible, so he can have them ready ahead of time. Please have your child bring it in if they are doing anything that involves a song. Thanks! A friendly reminder that individual photos are tomorrow at 11:00 for the Hunca Munca class. Hope you are having a beautiful weekend! Susie Dear Families, A reminder that our class get- together is this Sunday, August 28th, at Crescent Park in Lowry from 3-4:30pm. For a map, please visit the Hunca Munca website: A reminder: Please bring in canned or dry foods for our class food drive. Thank you to Susan, who will deliver the items to the Food Bank of the Rockies at the end of this week.

Communication Strategies Setting Boundaries Avoid teacher jargon

Communication Strategies Save examples (mentor’s, your own from year to year) Save s, blog posts, etc. from one year to the next as templates People need lots of reminders Reminder: Don’t forget to remind families with lots of reminders

Practice!

Scenario You are constantly waiting on the same parent who picks up their child minutes late everyday. They are also NOT okay with you taking their child to aftercare/extended day.

What you might be thinking: “Pick up is at 3:00, not 3:28 everyday. And no I am not a babysitter and yes I do have things I must accomplish at the end of the day before your child comes back in 11 hours!” What you might be thinking: “Pick up is at 3:00, not 3:28 everyday. And no I am not a babysitter and yes I do have things I must accomplish at the end of the day before your child comes back in 11 hours!”

What you might say : “Dear Parent, It was nice seeing you today and I know I did not get a chance to talk to you at the end of the day, but I wanted to check in with you about pick up time. Although it would be wonderful if I had more flexibility to stay longer after school, I really need all the children to be picked up at 3:00 and no later than 3:15. Our school’s procedure is at 3:15 to take any children who have not been picked up to Extended Day. Thank you for your understanding and help with this. Please let me know if you have any questions. All the best, Teacher” What you might say : “Dear Parent, It was nice seeing you today and I know I did not get a chance to talk to you at the end of the day, but I wanted to check in with you about pick up time. Although it would be wonderful if I had more flexibility to stay longer after school, I really need all the children to be picked up at 3:00 and no later than 3:15. Our school’s procedure is at 3:15 to take any children who have not been picked up to Extended Day. Thank you for your understanding and help with this. Please let me know if you have any questions. All the best, Teacher”

Communication Strategies Proactive & Preventative Give yourself time to respond Self reflection: biases, style, body language Active listening (paraphrase, summarize), open ended questions, affirmations

Brainstorm: Interactions or situations with families that have been especially challenging? Issues that came up at school that needed to be addressed with parents? Interactions or situations with families that have been especially challenging? Issues that came up at school that needed to be addressed with parents?

Role Play in Pairs 1.Choose a scenario 2.Work in pairs to role play the parent and the teacher. 3.Practice active listening 4.Switch roles and/or scenarios! 1.Choose a scenario 2.Work in pairs to role play the parent and the teacher. 3.Practice active listening 4.Switch roles and/or scenarios!

Nuggets or Take-aways

rentPage=all rentPage=all An example of what not to do!

Contact Information Susie Fabian Lead Teacher, Montview Community Preschool Professional Development Coach, Clayton Early Learning Contact Information Susie Fabian Lead Teacher, Montview Community Preschool Professional Development Coach, Clayton Early Learning