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According to the Child Mind Institute, there has been a 17% increase in anxiety disorder diagnoses in young people. When these children show up in our classrooms, they want to be successful just like every other student but face many more challenges than their peers. Irritability, fatigue, and sleep difficulties…

Recently, as I was returning a rental car, the associate behind the desk asked me an all-too-familiar question: “How was everything?” Without very much thought, I smiled and provided my routine answer: “Everything was fine.” She then asked me, “Is there anything that you feel we could do better?” I…

Black History Month is an opportunity for us as educators not only to teach students about historic contributors to our American history, but also to help students experience and find value in different cultures. This important work of raising awareness and appreciation shouldn’t be confined to one month; rather, we…

It was the morning of the first day of school and for the first time in four years, I was preparing my daughter to attend a school where I was not one of the teachers. She was wondering many of the same things I was wondering: Would she like her…

Every interaction we have (or don’t have) with parents does, to some degree, reflect how much we value families’ input and the extent to which we see caregivers as our partners in educating their children. Conversations with families can be powerful vehicles for bringing the sixth guiding principle of Responsive…

Taking time to get to know parents sends an important message: We’re a team with a shared goal of helping students have a successful school year. Plus, parents have invaluable insight that can help us better meet students’ learning needs. Forging strong connections with parents is an ongoing process—and it…

Not long ago, my second grade classes started pen pal projects. These weren't your usual pen pal ventures where children write to students in another state or country. These had a twist. In our Pen Pal Notebook project, the students write a letter every Friday to an adult at home:…

The beginning of the school year is a time for building relationships. I purposefully plan morning meetings, energizers, and other activities so students get to know each other and so our class community can begin to develop. I spend time observing, working with, and talking with students so I can…

Early in the school year, share with parents school and class expectations related to exclusion. You could do this in a letter or at back-to-school night. Give them a broad understanding of why inclusion matters and how it helps every child develop better social-emotional and academic skills. Also, share with…

I can't begin to describe how important the exchanges I've had with my children's teachers and principal have been to me this week. At various times, each of them reached out to let me and other school families know that all was well at school and with our children, and…

Links in this post were last updated February 15, 2018 Our appreciation for social media grew quite a bit when we asked "Educators, how was the day?" on the Responsive Classroom Facebook page on Monday afternoon, and over 100 people responded. We were so glad to hear from you! Your stories…

Teachers are encouraged to reach out early and often to their students' parents and families, and with good reason. If children are to succeed at school, teachers need to get to know and establish genuine partnerships with families. But what about school leaders? Shouldn't school leaders, too, be proactive in…

Conversations about a child who is struggling in school are stressful for parents and teachers. Both parties may experience feelings of anger, fear, frustration, and confusion, along with a sense of inadequacy, as they try to talk about challenges a child is facing. I recently experienced this myself when my…

Recently, I had the exciting opportunity to be interviewed by Katie Couric in the ABC studio in New York City for her weekly online video series, Katie's Take. The topic: "What Teachers Wish Parents Knew." While getting ready for the interview, I found myself thinking about a related topic: "What…

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…

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. I've written previously about how parent involvement is a key part of an effective bullying prevention program. Our students' family members often know…

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, and other invaluable insights. Parents can also support their child’s learning at home. When we let parents know what’s being…

As educators, we know that communication between school and home is hugely important to a child’s success in school. When school leaders, teachers, and other school staff respect parents* and share infor­mation with them openly and frequently, parents are more likely to trust and work with the school to support…

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 relationships is to invite families to express their hopes for their child. We might ask, “What do you…

Most Thursday nights, our family joins two other families for what we all call "Dinner and a Show." We congregate at one of our houses, the kids play together and we all enjoy some appetizers. The kids (seven of them, between the ages of 4 and 9) eat first and…

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. She said I could share it with you. My friend and her four-year-old daughter have birthdays just a…

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 some help with clerical work (photocopying, stapling) or projects that are hard to manage by yourself—such as messy…

"This year, in partnership with the United Way of Greater Toledo Women's Initiative, the Toledo Public Schools, and the Toledo Federation of Teachers, our focus will be on creating caring learning communities that help us all do our best," announces East Side Central Elementary School principal Tony Speaks. It's the…

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, journalist Erin Richards looks at the issue of whether education schools should be doing more to prepare teachers for working…

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. The articles explore this topic from a number of angles. In the first one, Erin Richards examines some basic research about the…

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 definitely be adapted for younger or older students. Here’s how it works: The teacher shares a really engaging…