3 Ways to Proactively Communicate with Parents

Communicating with parents doesn’t have to be stressful. In fact, I find that the more proactive communications I send, the easier it is.

Here are a few tips for how to proactively communicate with parents:

1. Send weekly emails.

I send a weekly email that includes an outline of what parents need to know for the week, including upcoming dates, important information, or big projects their students have coming up. While not all parents review weekly emails, it’s important to send them so they have a place to look for information if they do have questions. It might even save a few emails on your end if they know where to look. It’s important to share this information with parents, so they know what their kids are responsible for. Parents appreciate this, and it helps you build rapport with them because they know what to expect.

While it’s ideal to be able to send one amazing weekly email with everything you feel parents need to know, sometimes separate emails are needed if things pop up or if you get a question that isn’t answered in the email.

2. Be proactive if you notice a change in a student.

It’s easier to help a student if you catch problems early on, so it’s important to communicate at the beginning stages of noticing a change in one of your students. Maybe they’re usually really outgoing, but they’ve been really quiet recently. Maybe they’re struggling, and if you communicate with the parent about it, you might gain a better understanding of how you can help them.

3. Recognize the power of positive communication.

In a nutshell, positive parent communications don’t need to take a lot of time. You can read more of my in-depth thoughts on this here. I’ve grown accustomed to sending short emails (I’m talking two or three sentences) to parents just to let them know I see the positives in my students. It can be as simple as, “This is what your child did today. I was impressed.” As easy as it sounds, it goes a long way in showing parents you care.

Read more of my tips for communicating with parents here, and what I wish I knew about parent communication as a new teacher here.