The first step to create effective communication with families is to provide them with consistent messages that the school will work with them in a collaborative way to promote the educational success of the student1. To achieve this, all communications should strive to convey at least four consistent themes to families2:
1. The desire to develop a working partnership with parents and other caregivers.
2. The crucial nature of family input for children’s educational progress.
3. The importance of a strong learning environment at home and outside of school for children’s success in school.
4. The importance of working together to identify a mutually advantageous solution in light of problems.
In addition, the following are crucial communication behaviors that empower parent-teacher relations3:
1. The approachable person is an individual with whom people feel comfortable and secure.
2. The sensitive person communicates a desire to understand the other person in positive and supportive ways.
3. Flexibility provides the needed “space” and security for effective communication.
4. Dependability is the bridge between parents and teachers as they develop trusting and growing relationships. This is the attribute where parents and teachers learn to depend on each other in providing continuity and security in the child’s life.
1. Weiss & Edwards, 1992
2. Christenson & Sheridan, 2001
3. Swick, 1993, pp. 311–314
Activities
What are your goals for effective communication with families?
Think about and clarify the goals you have for effective communication with families and consider how those goals align with your school’s vision and policies regarding communication with families.
1. Take a few minutes to write a one-page reflection on your goals for effective communication with families.
2. As you reflect consider these questions:
- What do you value when you communicate with families?
- What are your past experiences?
- What has worked well and what have you struggled with?
- What would you like to improve upon and have as your current goal(s) regarding effective communication with families?
3. After you finish writing, contemplate how your values and goals align with your school’s vision and policies. Consider the following questions:
- What are your school’s policies and vision for engaging and communicating with parents?
- Have you seen tangible examples of different elements in the school (e.g. administration, colleagues, PTA) communicating with the parents?
- How is what you’re doing (communicating with families) matching up with the school’s efforts?
- What are areas in which the school is doing well and areas you think could be improved?
4. Share and get feedback on your goals from other members of the school community (e.g. colleagues, administration, students, parents, PTA members).
5. Implement your goals for effective communication with families. Gather feedback throughout the school year, modify accordingly, and be consistent.
6. At the end of your designated goal time period reread your one-page reflection. Did you accomplish what you set out to do? Why or why not? Share your experiences with other members of the school community and continue the process during the next semester or school year.
InTASC Model Core Teaching Standards
Standard #1: Learner Development
1(k) The teacher values the input and contributions of families, colleagues, and other professionals in understanding and supporting each learner’s development.
Standard #3: Learning Environments
3(a) The teacher collaborates with learners, families, and colleagues to build a safe, positive learning climate of openness, mutual respect, support, and inquiry.
3(f) The teacher communicates verbally and nonverbally in ways that demonstrate respect for and responsiveness to the cultural backgrounds and differing perspectives learners bring to the learning environment.
3(n) The teacher is committed to working with learners, colleagues, families, and communities to establish positive and supportive learning environments.
3(q) The teacher seeks to foster respectful communication among all members of the learning community.
Standard #8: Instructional Strategies
8(m) The teacher understands how multiple forms of communication (oral, written, nonverbal, digital, visual) convey ideas, foster self expression, and build relationships.
8(q) The teacher values the variety of ways people communicate and encourages learners to develop and use multiple forms of communication.
Standard #10: Leadership and Collaboration
10(d) The teacher works collaboratively with learners and their families to establish mutual expectations and ongoing communication to support learner development and achievement.
1. Three key points for effective communication with parents: https://raisingchildren.net.au/for-professionals/working-with-parents/communicating-with-parents/communication-with-parents
2. Five Keys to Successful Parent-Teacher Communication: https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/articles/teaching-content/five-keys-successful-parent-teacher-communication/
3. “Family-School Partnerships: Information and Approaches for Educators” by Stacy Callender and Annie Hansen at https://sandiegounified.org/UserFiles/Servers/Server_27969304/File/Departments/School%20Psychology%20Services/Information%20and%20Resources%20for%20Educators/Family-SchoolPartnerships.pdf
4. “Parent, Family, Community Involvement in Education,” an NEA (National Education Association) policy brief at https://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.204.7661&rep=rep1&type=pdf
5. “Supporting SMART Goals with Family and Student Engagement” at https://www.bostonpublicschools.org/cms/lib/MA01906464/Centricity/Domain/92/FSE%20Goal%20Develop%20Guide%20for%20Educators.doc
What is empowering communication and how can I achieve it?
Describe your understanding of empowering communication, read some examples, and consider what you can do to enhance your empowering communication skills.
1. How good are your communication skills? Go to http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newCS_99.htm and take the online communication quiz. Calculate and interpret your score. Read the rest of the article, “How Good Are Your Communication Skills,” in order to get a more detailed interpretation of your abilities as a communicator.
2. Reflect and jot down your responses to these two questions: What do you do well in terms of “empowering communication”? What do you need to improve upon?
3. Set yearlong goals for yourself regarding empowering communication. As communication opportunities come up with students’ families and other members of the learning community, establish specific and realistic goals for yourself. Afterward, reflect on each situation and evaluate your development. Continue the process from event to event so that you reinforce those communication skills and gradually scaffold your skills and confidence. Also, if possible, get input and feedback from colleagues on your progress over the school year.
InTASC Model Core Teaching Standards
Standard #3: Learning Environments
3(f) The teacher communicates verbally and nonverbally in ways that demonstrate respect for and responsiveness to the cultural backgrounds and differing perspectives learners bring to the learning environment.
3(n) The teacher is committed to working with learners, colleagues, families, and communities to establish positive and supportive learning environments.
3(q) The teacher seeks to foster respectful communication among all members of the learning community.
Standard #9: Professional Learning and Ethical Practice
9(b) The teacher engages in meaningful and appropriate professional learning experiences aligned with his/her own needs and the needs of the learners, school, and system.
9(e) The teacher reflects on his/her personal biases and accesses resources to deepen his/her own understanding of cultural, ethnic, gender, and learning differences to build stronger relationships and create more relevant learning experiences.
9(l) The teacher takes responsibility for student learning and uses ongoing analysis and reflection to improve planning and practice.
9(m) The teacher is committed to deepening understanding of his/her own frames of reference (e.g., culture, gender, language, abilities, ways of knowing), the potential biases in these frames, and their impact on expectations for and relationships with learners and their families.
9(n) The teacher sees him/herself as a learner, continuously seeking opportunities to draw upon current education policy and research as sources of analysis and reflection to improve practice.
1. Effective strategies for communicating with parents. http://theeducatorsroom.com/2012/11/from-the-classroom-home-communicating-with-parents/
2. Parent-teacher communication strategies at https://www.understood.org/articles/en/how-to-break-down-communication-barriers-between-teachers-and-families
3. “Power Up Your Parent-Teacher Communication” at https://www.commonsense.org/education/teaching-strategies/power-up-your-parent-teacher-communication
Analysis of current teacher-family communication practices
Create a landscape of your current practices. What are you already doing? Which areas would you like to improve? How can you target those improvements?
1. Create a landscape of your current teaching and family engagement practices. Write a one to two page reflection:
a. What are you already doing to access students’ family/community knowledge and resources?
b. How are you engaging that knowledge and those resources in your instruction?
c. To what extent are you extending the school curriculum into the students’ homes and bringing the students’ family/home life into school?
d. What kinds of systems do you have in place for regular communication between classroom/school and home? What do you think is functioning well and what should be improved upon?
2. Read the article “Communicating with Parents: Strategies for Teachers” by Susan Graham-Clay at http://www.adi.org/journal/ss05/Graham-Clay.pdf
3. Reflect on your previous experiences, what you have read and learned, and make a plan to continue to improve your family engagement practices. Set your own personal goals to improve the regular and ongoing communication between your classroom/school and your students’ homes.
InTASC Model Core Teaching Standards
Standard #3: Learning Environments
3(q) The teacher seeks to foster respectful communication among all members of the learning community.
Standard #8: Instructional Strategies
8(h) The teacher uses a variety of instructional strategies to support and expand learners’ communication through speaking, listening, reading, writing, and other modes.
Standard #9: Professional Learning and Ethical Practice
9(b) The teacher engages in meaningful and appropriate professional learning experiences aligned with his/her own needs and the needs of the learners, school, and system.
9(c) Independently and in collaboration with colleagues, the teacher uses a variety of data (e.g., systematic observation, information about learners, research) to evaluate the outcomes of teaching and learning and to adapt planning and practice.
9(d) The teacher actively seeks professional, community, and technological resources, within and outside the school, as supports for analysis, reflection, and problem solving.
9(e) The teacher reflects on his/her personal biases and accesses resources to deepen his/her own understanding of cultural, ethnic, gender, and learning differences to build stronger relationships and create more relevant learning experiences.
9(l) The teacher takes responsibility for student learning and uses ongoing analysis and reflection to improve planning and practice.
9(m) The teacher is committed to deepening understanding of his/her own frames of reference (e.g., culture, gender, language, abilities, ways of knowing), the potential biases in these frames, and their impact on expectations for and relationships with learners and their families.
9(n) The teacher sees him/herself as a learner, continuously seeking opportunities to draw upon current education policy and research as sources of analysis and reflection to improve practice.
Standard #10: Leadership and Collaboration
10(d) The teacher works collaboratively with learners and their families to establish mutual expectations and ongoing communication to support learner development and achievement.
1. The article “Communicating with Parents: Strategies for Teachers” by Susan Graham-Clay at http://www.adi.org/journal/ss05/Graham-Clay.pdf
2. Family communication ideas. http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/policies-practices-family-communications-ideas-really-work
3. Developing communication between teachers and families. http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/policies-practices-developing-communication-between-teachers-families
4. Communicating with families across cultures. http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ794783.pdf
Who benefits from effective teacher-family communication, how, and why?
Using a graphic organizer, work alone or with peers to generate a visual summary of the multiple benefits of effective teacher-family communication for all parties involved.
1. Use the following graphic organizer, based on Epstein’s overlapping spheres of influence, as a tool to brainstorm a visual list of the multiple benefits of effective teacher-family communication. Include other members of the learning community in your brainstorming activity. What are their perspectives on the benefits? Invite colleagues, administrators, parents, and students to contribute to the graphic organizer.
2. What are some of the most important benefits of good teacher-family (and school-family) communication?
3. What are some things you may need to do to fully reap those benefits?
4. Are there communication initiatives for which you may need to involve your grade or school?
5. Propose some steps to your colleagues, administrators, parents, and students to enhance the benefits of teacher-family communication. If viable, discuss also extending these options to school-family initiatives.
6. Evaluate your actions: What worked? What needs to be changed again? Involve families and colleagues in this process.
7. You may use this visual representation throughout the school year. For example, you could display it during Open House and other school events to continue to raise awareness and center the discussion about the best ways to engage in effective teacher-family communication.
InTASC Model Core Teaching Standards
Standard #3: Learning Environments
3(n) The teacher is committed to working with learners, colleagues, families, and communities to establish positive and supportive learning environments.
3(q) The teacher seeks to foster respectful communication among all members of the learning community.
Standard #8: Instructional Strategies
8(m) The teacher understands how multiple forms of communication (oral, written, nonverbal, digital, visual) convey ideas, foster self expression, and build relationships.
Standard #10: Leadership and Collaboration
10(d) The teacher works collaboratively with learners and their families to establish mutual expectations and ongoing communication to support learner development and achievement.
10(e) Working with school colleagues, the teacher builds ongoing connections with community resources to enhance student learning and well being.
10(m) The teacher understands that alignment of family, school, and community spheres of influence enhances student learning and that discontinuity in these spheres of influence interferes with learning.
1. Epstein, J. L. (2005). A case study of the partnership schools comprehensive school reform (CSR) model. In The Elementary School Journal, 106(2), pp. 151-170.
2. “Communicating With Parents and Families,” Scholastic.com, at http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/communicating-parents-and-families
3. “Effective Communication Between Parents and Teachers,” Center for Assessment and Intervention, Fischler School of Education and Human Services, Nova Southeastern University at http://theparentacademy.dadeschools.net/pdfs/Effective_Communication.pdf
4. “Communicating with Parents: Strategies for Teachers” by Susan Graham-Clay at http://www.adi.org/journal/ss05/Graham-Clay.pdf
5. “How Two-Way Communication Can Boost Parent Engagement” at https://www.waterford.org/education/two-way-communication-parent-engagement/
6. “Family-School Communication” by K. V. Hoover-Dempsey and Joan M. T. Walker at http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.467.3740&rep=rep1&type=pdf
7. Five keys to successful parent-teacher communication. http://www.scholastic.com/teachers/article/five-keys-successful-parent-teacher-communication
8. “One Size Does Not Fit All: Analyzing Different Approaches to Family-School Communication” at https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/education-k-12/reports/2020/02/20/480254/one-size-not-fit/