I've been thinking about the communication gap that sometimes exists between parents and teachers and how we can narrow it. For example, has this ever happened to you?A teacher offers advice on an issue a child is having, and the parent hears it as veiled criticism. The parent offers additional information to help the teacher more fully understand what’s going on, and the teacher thinks the parent is just making excuses.
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SEP
10
2012
Bullyproofing at Back-to-School Night
Will you be meeting your students' families at back-to-school night soon? If so, you have a golden opportunity to take another important step toward bullyproofing your classroom.
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MAY
08
2012
We Can’t Stop Bullying Alone
It seems to me sometimes that children's teachers and children's families live on different planets when it comes to the issue of keeping our children safe in school. Personally, I've lived on…
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AUG
02
2011
Communicating with Parents
To teach well, we must know children well, and parents can help us do that better than anyone. Parents can share knowledge of their child’s strengths and challenges, unique perspectives, Read More…
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MAR
16
2011
Families’ Hopes and Dreams
If we really believe the statement “Parents are partners in their children’s education,” then we have to make developing relationships with parents a top priority. An important first step in building these…
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DEC
22
2010
The Wise Teacher
A colleague of mine recently told me a story that reminded me of how powerful and positive an influence teachers can have—not just on their students, but on students’ families as well.…
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JUL
20
2010
Parents and other Volunteers in the Classroom
Inviting parents and other adult family members into the classroom gives them a chance to experience some of their child’s school life. It can also be a way for you to get…
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APR
27
2010
Information for Parents (PDF printable)
We’ve created a printable PDF for you to share with your students’ families! Note: about the term “parent” Students come from a variety of homes and family structures. Many children Read More…
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MAR
25
2010
PE Kudos! Forging connections with families
At University School of Nashville, where I was an administrator and teacher for 23 years, the physical education teachers have recently been trying a new way of engaging students' parents in the…
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DEC
23
2009
Forging Connections with Families, Part 2: Reaching Out
A couple weeks ago, I wrote about a thought-provoking series on the home-school connection that was recently published in the Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel. In the second article in the series, Read More…
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DEC
08
2009
Forging Connections with Families, Part 1: Removing Barriers
A recent series of articles published in the Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel have me thinking about one of my favorite topics—the importance of forging connections between schools and parents.
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SEP
29
2009
Here’s an Idea! Class Books with Parents
Making a class version of a book is a community building activity used by lots of teachers at the beginning of the year. I used it with second graders, but it could…
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APR
01
2009
Keeping in Touch with Families All Year Long
Step out of your teacher shoes for a moment and imagine yourself as the parent of a child you teach. You're at home, and the phone rings. You pick it up and…
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FEB
01
2009
Learning Celebrations
As a new teacher years ago, I knew by instinct and training that students would learn more, and with more joy, if adults from their home lives shared in their school lives.…
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APR
01
2008
Success Night
When Kyle and his grandparents walk into Summit Elementary School on Success Night, the hallways are already buzzing with children and their families. Kyle’s grandmother catches sight of his second Read More…
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FEB
01
2007
Reaching Out to Parents
For many families at Sarasota Suncoast Academy, the school day begins in the parking lot with a friendly personal welcome from principal Steve Crump. He and the rest of the office staff…
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FEB
01
2007
Informality Enhances Parent Meetings
Because I want families to be important members of their child’s educational team, I make opportunities throughout the school year for in-person conversations with each student’s parents or guardians. These “meetings” range…
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APR
01
2006
Welcoming Families of Different Cultures
An adapted excerpt from Parents & Teachers Working Together One of the enduring truths about teaching is that to teach children well, we have to know them: what they’re passionate Read More…
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AUG
01
2005
Investing in Parents During the First Six Weeks of School
Teachers work hard during the first six weeks of school to get to know their students and to establish a safe and welcoming classroom environment. This early investment makes the Read More…
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APR
01
2005
Parent-Student-Teacher Conferences Keep the Focus on the Child
On a sunny October afternoon, kindergartner Chloe welcomes her mom into her classroom for a conference. Together they review a map Chloe had created with symbols representing the activities that the class…
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NOV
01
2004
Wonderful Wednesdays
Morning Meeting is over and writing workshop is underway. The children are scattered around the room sketching and then writing about objects that “called out to them.” Erin's dad is leaning against…
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AUG
01
2004
Bridging Home and School
Learning about patterns is one of the first things we do in math in my primary classroom. We create patterns with our bodies, sing them, build them, clap them. But I never…
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FEB
01
2004
Keeping Connected
It’s sharing time during Morning Meeting in Ms. Roberts’s first grade classroom. Jarrod is enthusiastically telling his classmates about the photos they will see when they look at his “family album.” The…
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FEB
01
2004
Child Development
Question:What are your goals in sharing knowledge about child development with students’ families, and how do you go about it?
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AUG
01
2003
Morning Meeting Begins at 7:15 p.m.!
It's back-to-school night at Flanders Elementary School in East Lyme, Connecticut. As parents and guardians arrive at Andy Dousis's fourth grade classroom, he welcomes them warmly and invites them to read the…
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AUG
01
2003
Welcoming All Families
Question:I know that it's important to have a good working relationship with the parents and care-takers of the children in my classroom. The children come from diverse backgrounds, with differences in ethnicity,…
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NOV
01
2001
Working with Families
Question:In my classroom this year, I am implementing two teaching strategies, Morning Meeting and Rules and Logical Consequences, but I’m concerned about parents’ reactions. I can imagine that they will worry that…
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