Tips for Effectively Partnering with Your Child's Teacher

This year has been a year like no other, and it’s impacting families in a lot of ways. As a parent, you can’t control everything, but you can do your part to make things go as smoothly as possible for your child’s education by effectively partnering with their teacher.

Meet Amy Sheppard, middle school social studies teacher at Rolesville Charter Academy, a partner school in National Heritage Academies’ (NHA) network of schools, who is passionate about communicating with parents. She has even been a guest on NHA’s podcast for teachers, The Teachers’ Lounge, to discuss communicating with parents from a teacher’s perspective.

“Parents and teachers want what is best for the children,” said Sheppard. “It is so important to partner and work together because they each have such different perspectives and ideas that together can create the best outcomes for students.”
She focuses on proactively and positively communicating with her students’ families, and she has eight tips for parents on how to best partner with their child’s teacher as efficiently and effectively as possible.

1. Communicate with the teacher. If you have a concern, remember you’re on the same team. It’s a team effort. Have clear communication to avoid misunderstandings.
2. Inquire about enrichment opportunities. Check with your teacher for opportunities for further enrichment. Parents want to make sure their kids are being challenged, and some parents ask for additional assignments.
3. Consider the environment. Remember a child can be different in the classroom than they are at home. It’s important to have a partnership between parents and teachers to understand how your child interacts at school.  
4. Communication preferences. Ask your teacher how they prefer to communicate or how they prefer parents to send questions. Some teachers prefer phone calls, others prefer email. You never know until you ask!
5. Do an assignment debrief. Talk to your kids and go through the assignments with them. Take the time to look at instructions with students. Encourage open dialogue with older kids. All of these tactics help hold them accountable. This will also minimize confusion about any missing assignments they may have.
6. Consistently monitor progress. Monitor progress throughout the term instead of just at the end. Spend 10-15 minutes a week looking through assignments just to see what they’re up to. This will show you what they know. Sometimes kids come home and say they didn’t learn anything. Try asking in-depth questions and have conversations about the projects they’re working on.
7. Be understanding/patient – we’re all human.
8. A kind or encouraging message or note goes a long way.

About National Heritage Academies:
NHA is a network of 98 tuition-free, public charter schools across nine states, serving more than 60,000 students in kindergarten through 12th grade. For more information, visit nhaschools.com.