First Weeks of School Hopes and Dreams Interactive Modeling
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 whole school year go better. The same idea applies to working with the most influential adults in the children’s lives: their parents.
Although in many schools the first parent conference doesn’t take place until November, teachers can begin early—right as, or even before, the school year starts—to build a positive relationship with parents.
Investing in parents as well as children during those critical first six weeks yields better school–home interactions all year, enriches classroom life, and enhances children’s learning.
Teachers are experts on curriculum and pedagogy, but parents are experts on their own children—how the children absorb information, what delights them, how they show that they’re upset, what comforts them. During the first six weeks, we can create a climate of respect, trust, and collaboration with these valuable educational partners. Here are the three main goals in this early work with parents:
Here are six ways you can begin the process of developing positive, productive relationships with parents:
To demonstrate powerfully that parents matter, hold your first parent conference before school starts or during the early weeks. You’ll gather crucial information about the child and family, which can mean more effective teaching from the very start.
One way to structure this first conference is to invite parents to share their goals, hopes, and dreams for their child. You could ask, “What do you think is the most important thing for Helen to learn this year?” or “What’s your biggest hope for Jeff this year?” Such questions immediately and meaningfully engage parents and set a collaborative tone. The answers give teachers important insights into their new students.
Send a letter home beforehand to give parents time to think about their hopes and dreams for their child. Invite them to choose both a social and an academic goal. Doing so eases the pressure of choosing just one goal while also demonstrating the equal importance of the social and academic curricula.
Another way to gather information early is to send out a form that asks parents to list special talents, skills, interests, or family traditions that they would like to share with the class. This establishes a connection with the family and welcomes parents into an active role in classroom life.
As you plan units of study, incorporate parents whenever possible. Rafael’s mom can show the class her coin collection; Marlene’s dad can teach hand drumming; Anna’s grandfather is willing to tell stories. Such sharing lets the children learn about each other’s families, helps children and parents feel welcome, and enriches the curriculum, all at the same time.
To encourage connections among families during the first six weeks, many teachers hold a Morning Meeting for parents, perhaps at back-to-school night. Although the content is geared toward parents and the meeting takes place in the evening, you can follow the usual Morning Meeting format—a greeting, a sharing, a group activity, and a morning message. Just as this format sets a positive tone for learning in the classroom, it does so for this evening of adult communication. It helps build a sense of community among adults and lets parents experience something their children do every day at school.
To emphasize a feeling of collaboration and openness, have parents sit in a circle, just as the children do in their Morning Meeting. Sit in the circle with the parents just as you do with students.
Morning Meeting usually lasts around twenty to thirty minutes, so you’ll have plenty of time to discuss curriculum, approaches to homework, and the other items on your agenda.
You can increase the chances that all students will have success with homework by communicating your homework philosophy and expectations to both parents and students early in the year and factoring in their homework concerns.
Homework should let children practice what they learned at school and develop their ability to work independently. But not all children are at the same place in their learning and their readiness for independent work, so you may want to adapt homework as necessary to suit their needs. Homework should not be a burden for students or their families.
In the first six weeks of school, talk with students about homework. Brainstorm how to do homework successfully. You can even create a “Possible Homework Problems and Solutions” chart. Then, at parent-teacher conferences early in the school year, ask parents about their children’s homework history, share your homework expectations, and show them how to help their children with assignments. Once this foundation is built, begin assigning homework.
Learning about families, fostering community, sharing homework ideas. These are big things we must handle with care and skill when building bridges with parents as the school year starts. But in these early weeks, it’s important to remember that small daily interactions also matter.
Whenever parents pick up or drop off a child, call to get homework for a sick child, or help in the classroom, we have an opportunity to connect. We can share something positive about the child: “Jacob did a great job sharing markers today.” We can follow up on a previous discussion: “Have you thought about sharing your weaving with the class?” Or we can simply ask how the parent is doing: “How are things going with the new baby?” Day by day, we can let parents know that we recognize and value them.
If we engage parents early in the school year, the school-home partnership can be one of our most powerful unions. We can reach out in many ways; the methods described here are only suggestions. Decide what works best for your students and their parents. The important things are that you be informative, respectful, and welcoming—and that you begin early.
For a comprehensive look at this topic, check out Strengthening the Parent-Teacher Partnership. (You can learn more about this book by watching our conversation with the author.)
You can also read our latest articles on working with families.
By Carol Davis and Alice Yang