Ayana's Site On Teaching and Learning!

When I was a new teacher, I felt nervous about talking with my students' parents.  I felt certain that they would take one look at me, see that I had no idea what I was doing, complain to my principal, and get me fired.  Well, that didn't happen.  Now, looking back, I see that the students who made the most progress in my class were the ones with whose families I had the better relationship.  In fact, one of the most rewarding things about being a teacher has been the opportunity to get to know the parents, grandparents, stepparents, foster parents, and aunts and uncles, who were raising my students.  Here are some tips and resources for working with families.  Happy Teaching!

Getting to Know You

The single best way for me to get to know kids before the school year begins is to sit down with a family member and their child and chat for about 20 minutes.  I first learned how to do "Getting to Know You" interviews from Janet, a kindergarten teacher in Oregon.  I do a friendlier version of the parent interview described here:

http://www.ebrschools.org/explore.cfm/parentalinvolve/

I use a similar Parent Teacher Interview form, but without the teacherspeak and avoiding questions that might make a parent feel defensive.  Also, I ask the kids what they like to do at home, inside and outside.  I ask about allergies or other health issues.  Then I send the kid away to draw a picture or play with blocks and I quietly ask the family member if there is anything else I should know.  I also say, "Did you have any (other) questions for me?" with a smile on my face so the caregiver knows I'm open and willing to talk, not just trying to wrap things up.  When things are wrapping up, I give the parent the general school introduction page, tell both caregiver and child how glad I am that I'm going to get to work with them, and thank them for meeting with me.

FirstHiAndMeeting.DOC

FirstHiNoMeeting.doc

FirstGeneralSchoolIntroduction.DOC

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Begging 101

Yes, it's an endless quest for the basics (Kleenex, anyone?) when one teaches in an under-resourced school.  Families are the easiest to beg from because they have the most invested in our success.  At the same time, recognize that for many of our families, school supply lists are a genuine hardship, so accept what you get with a smile, and don't be a pest about what you don't get.

SupplyListLetter.DOC

SupplyListReminder.DOC

SupplyListMid-year.DOC

BakeSaleFlyer.doc

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Links

Policy makers and community members need to understand that many urban and rural teachers don't have basic office equipment and supplies in their classroom.  It becomes annoying to have high cell phone bills because we don't have a telephone in our classrooms.  Also, it's hard for teachers to write a newsletter at schools where teachers have neither a computer in their classroom nor reliable access to a copy machine.  Thus for teachers in severely under-resourced schools, communicating with families sometimes feels like a catch-as-catch-can enterprise.  Yet, the families of students in under-resourced schools have a right to know what is happening with their children, and a right to have their concerns and suggestions heard by teachers and school staff.

http://www.proteacher.com/050002.shtml The parent-involvement section of ProTeacher.

http://www.gse.harvard.edu/hfrp/projects

/fine/resources/materials/home-school_workshop.html A workshop for teachers about home-school communication from the Harvard Family Research Project.

http://www.learnnc.org/articles/ParentComm1 A brief article from Learn NC.

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Sample Newsletters

Here are some class newsletters that I wrote when I taught second and third grade.  I include them here for those of you who would like to look at some samples.  Teachers can feel free to copy and paste for use in their newsletters.  I'm posting the newsletters as web pages, so it will be easy for you to highlight, right-click, and copy individual paragraphs.  I found the newsletters on my home computer-- doubtless others are on computers at various schools in which I've worked!  *** are where I deleted personal information, let me know if I missed a name or phone number.  Also, let me know if these samples are helpful for you!

Fall

Newsletter-9-9-Homework.htm

Newsletter-9-25-Vocabulary.htm

Newsletter-9-29-Weekly-Schedule.htm

newsletter-10-6-what-we're-learning-plus.htm

Newsletter-10-11-Homework-2.htm

newsletter-10-13-trips-plus.htm

newsletter-10-26-Halloween-plus.htm

Spring

Newsletter-3-2-Science-Fair.htm

Newsletter-3-10-spring-report-cards.htm

Newsletter-5-1-field-trips.htm

http://www.vtnea.org/ti-3.htm This is a list of tips, especially for written communication, from the Vermont NEA.  How well did I do following their tips?

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