Forums

This is when I find out who are next of kin. I have contacted Aunts, Uncles, and grandparents in the past. Then word gets back to the parents often enough.

Maybe try to find another relative that is close to the child. After calling, sending notes home, etc. a home visit could be the last option. This depends on what the school allows and what is appropriate for the situation.

I think visit the child home. It will be the best way to get in contact.

I think it is very important to keep communication between parents and teachers. One way to keep parents informed would be to have a blog or a monthly newsletter that students can take home. Possibly doing the car driver duty in the morning or afternoon. This will allow you to see whoever is picking up the child and open a line of communication. Is there any way the parents could use FaceTime, Skype or conference call? Letting parents know that you need them to help enrich the students education and making them feel comfortable.

I do agree that at some point we might feel that we should accept that there won’t be a response, but that should be after you’ve done everything possible. I think that at this point you should definitely reach out for guidance from administration before making any further decision or assumptions. Also, question for those who said to wait for parents to pick up child after school or in the morning for drop off. What if mainly all student are bus riders, and parents are not tech savvy?

At the school I am at a lot of teachers use the app called 'ClassDojo'. It is a simple FREE app that allows teachers and parents to communicate with one another. It is available online and on smart phones. It allows for easy communication, allows parents to see why their students may have gotten class points off, and see why they gained points as well. The messages from the app work just as easily as texting. All of my students parents have it and love using it this year!
If you click on the link it I have provided you can go straight to the teacher sign up page, input the names of your students, and print out the login and password for your parents to log onto to join the class.

As a student teacher i have the opportunity of observing many different teaching and classroom management styles. Of them all, I'v favored "classroom Dojo". The student's demeanor changes positively each time they hear a reward point ding on the computer. This is an app that the student's parents can tune into at any part of the day and see how their child is doing. They are able to see what class they're in and you are able to leave comments for their actions. i think you'll learn to love it. Remember you can only do so much on your end. Good luck!