Starting Points
- Establish a team for identifying strengths and needs for the school in practices and policies that embrace effective family-school communication.
- Use the School Level Starting Points Family, School, and Community Partnerships Inventory to begin discussion related to how the school embraces healthy two-way communication between the school and all families, and plan for action steps.
- Use the Action Plan Template as part of your purposeful and informed planning for action steps that lead to a vision of family, school and community partnerships in your school community.
Effective Family-School Communication
Effective family-school communication emphasizes the value of communication between home and school that is ongoing, two-way, meaningful, and focused on student learning. It also points to communication as the foundation of solid partnerships and the fact that when parents and school staff communicate effectively, positive relationships develop, problems are more easily solved, and students make greater progress.
Many ways that schools deliver information, such as handouts, newsletters, handbooks, and websites, do not always provide an easy and routine way for families to respond. Even parent group meetings are often seen by school leaders merely as a way to get the message out to families. The most effective way to build a real partnership is to create regular opportunities for open, honest dialogue.
There is one main goal for Effective Two Way Family-School Communication
Share information between school and families.
All families should feel that the school keeps them informed on important issues and that it is easy to communicate with teachers, the principal, and other staff. The focus is on healthy two-way communication between the school and all families, regardless of language, time or other barriers that may exist. Key questions to ask include:
- Does your school offer many different ways to communicate every day?
- Does the school or parent group survey families at least once a year to find out what’s on their minds?
- Are the principal and other school administrators easily accessible to any parent
- Does the school and parent group make it easy for parents and families to build connections and communicate with each other?
- Is the school website useful and easily accessible to families?
Action Steps
What Parents and School Staff Can Do to Improve Effective School-Family Communication
GETTING STARTED
- Establish a team for identifying strengths and needs for the school in practices and policies that create a family-friendly school.
- Use the School Level Starting Points Family, School, and Community Partnerships Inventory to begin discussion related to how the school embraces healthy two-way communication between the school and all families, and plan for action steps.
- Use the Action Plan Template as part of your purposeful and informed planning for action steps that lead to a vision of family, school and community partnerships in your school community.
WHAT PARENTS AND PARENT LEADERS CAN DO
- Design and print forms as an easy way for teachers to regularly report positive behavior and/or achievements to parents. Encourage school staff to contact parents regarding positive achievements that the students are making.
- Consider using color-coded lines on hallway walls, or footprints on floors, to help direct parents to important places like the school office, parent resource center, and library.
- Include a two-way communication mechanism, such as a question-and-answer section or mini survey, in each edition of your newsletter and/or website.
- Distribute calendars so parents can record upcoming events, assignments, and dates to check with teachers on their children’s progress.
- Role-play a parent-teacher conference for families and school staff, demonstrating effective ways for parents and teachers to share information and plan for the future.
- Work with school staff to ensure that the school website is family friendly. Use the resources listed below: What’s Missing from Your School Website?
WHAT SCHOOL LEADERS AND STAFF CAN DO
- Reflect on the results of the Reflection/Assessment Rubric for Parent Leaders and School Staff: Effective Family-School Communication with a team of stakeholders including parents, teacher, administrators to identify strengths and needs for the school in practices and policies that allow for effective school-family communication.
- Map the school’s parent-teacher contacts: How often do teachers communicate with families, what are the main topics, and when do they have face-to-face contact?
- Work with the parent group to establish guidelines for regular communication between home and school (e.g., monthly calls from teachers to parents, home visits, weekly newsletters).
- Engage school staff, community members, and parents in developing a parent handbook.
- Establish a method for parents to review their children’s work on a regular basis. For example, use the internet or manila envelopes to send student work home each week; have a place for parent comments.
- Publicize the hours when administrators and teachers are available for parent visits and any procedures for contacting teachers on the telephone or in writing.
- Make use of all channels of communication: cable television, newspapers, radio, automated phone systems, text messaging, school and parent group websites, etc.
- Identify parents, community members, local organizations, and businesses that can help strengthen home-school communication.
- Make sure all information is communicated in languages and formats to reach all parents.
- Sponsor events that allow educators and parents to interact socially, in addition to parent-teacher conferences and regular school meetings.
Resources and Tools
Quick Tips for Improving Effective Communication
The goal of sharing information and building trusting relationships between school, families, and communities is reflected in the practices listed here.
Reflection/Assessment Rubric for Parent Leaders and School Staff: Supporting Student Success
Use this rubric to help evaluate how well your school partners with families and community to support student success. Think about where you see yourself in the process and strategies you use to improve communication by marking the box that most clearly matches what you are doing now. Reflect on the results as you plan and focus efforts on effective communication.
(coming soon)
11 Questions that Parents of ELL Students Should Ask
Students are identified as English Learners through a process that starts with a home language survey upon registration at the school and the language assessments used to determine the strengths and needs of the students.
More information and 11 questions are included for all parents of ELL students to ask their child’s teacher or school administrator to ensure that students they have everything they need to stay on the path to success.
Family Friendly Schools Walkthrough Checklist
The checklist is designed to allow schools to assess their “family friendly” practices. This tool gives school leaders the opportunity to evaluate how inviting and “customer friendly” their school is to families and the community. It can also help to point out various areas that may have been previously overlooked and can be easily addressed. Also being translated.
Clave al Éxito
This web-based resource can be very useful for school wide use and inclusion on web site. Everything is in English and Spanish and it includes grade guides, reading log tools, a parent-teacher translator communicator tools, multimedia parent academies, current tips and news, resources for parents and teachers with EL students and students with learning exceptionalities in special education.
Examining Assumptions About Families
This tool provides a guide to examine assumptions about families understand that for family-school communication to be effective, particular concepts need to be examined carefully by school staff. This tool can be used for an activity during professional development and reflection on practices.
Reaching Out to Diverse Populations: What Can Schools Do to Foster Family-School Connections?
by Chris Ferguson (Austin, TX: Southwest Educational Development Laboratory, 2005), recommends that schools build on cultural values, stress personal contact, foster communication, and offer accommodations such as child care, translation, and transportation.
Teacher and Family Grams
Use these grams as a simple and concise way to stay in touch with families. In English and Spanish.
Half and Half Letters
Review these two sample half and half letters and consider how you could use these with families in your school and community? In English and Spanish.
More Coming soon:
- Culturally and Linguistically Responsive Practices and Policies for Family Engagement
- Tips for Developing a School and District Policy on Family-School Partnerships
- Family Engagement in Title I, Indian Education, Special Education, Bilingual Education: Alignment with State and Federal Requirements
- Ideas to Promote Trusting Relationships Between Schools and Every Family
- Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Guidance and Resources
- Fatherhood Initiatives: Make Room for Dads and Grandads
- Photos, Videos, and Featured Effective Practices