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Hello!

My name is Ashley Rivera and I am an Elementary ESL Education major at UTRGV in Edinburg, Texas. As I continue to learn about the responsibilities the teaching career entails, one particular aspect stays at the top of my concerns. Parent involvement is an important part of student success, therefore I am seeking advice as to how to create a professional, trusting relationship with the parents of my future students. I understand that communication is a pivotal part of forming that relationship, but how can I ensure that every parent is provided information about their child's well-being and academic progress, moreover, build trust between the parent and the teacher?

Thank you!

Hello Ashley! I am currently pursing my Masters Arts In Education as I already have a bachleors in biology. That being said I have been in the classroom for going on my 4th year as an educational assistant. Now typically EA's don't have much parent contact at all, but in my case it is a little different where I am a one on one with a student. It does pose some difficulties at times but I've come to find that including the parent with what their child or children are doing is so important. I tend to send home overviews of what my student will be learning that week and if the parent has questions then they are more than welcome to ask. This really seemed to help promote communication between not only myself and the parent but with the student as well. I really hope this gives you some kind of insight and help in your next steps to having that positive relationship with not only your students but their parents as well. 

Hi Ashley! I remember being scared of talking to my student's parents because it would seem like they are staring hard down at me, but honestly, all they want to know is how their child is academically. One way you can build trust with them is to have good communication with them and to always be yourself. Sometimes it can be a bit hard to talk to parents, especially the ones who seem a bit more serious and dull, but don't ever be afraid. Always keep in mind that you are helping the child learn. :) 

Hello Ashley, Parent involvement is key. I feel like building parents' trust and creating a relationship with the parents may be a struggle for pre-service teachers who are starting their careers. Be yourself and build a circle of work ethic with your colleagues they will surely help with tips and strategies to building relationships with parents and entailing great communication skills. Furthermore, there are great apps that the school provides where you can stay in contact with parents.

Hi! My name is Abbey McLean, and I am a preservice teacher. As I have gained classroom experience in my clinicals, I have seen my CT's maintain communication with parents in quite a few ways. First, they send home a weekly newsletter with each student. This letter includes information like homework and upcoming tests, school events happening that week, and any other important information parents need to know, like permission forms that are due the following week. I think this is a really good way to keep parents informed, and it provides them with a good overview of the weeks events. I have also had CT's who send out a weekly email that contains similar information. This way, the information does not get lost in the bottom of a student's bookbag. Another huge thing that I have learned at PD events is to send a positive email or phone call to each parent in your class during the first few weeks of school. This can be about anything positive that a student does, even something small. What it does do is show the parents that you see the good in their child, so if you need to call and discuss a behavior later, they will remember that you called early in the year about something positive, so the relationship will already be established. I love this advice, and I will use it in my future classroom. I hope you find these two suggestions helpful, and I wish you the best in the future. 

Hello, Abigail! 

I think that you bring up good points about creating trust between parents and the teachers. I am not a teacher yet but the ideas you posted on here are really good in having trust between the parents and the teachers. I really like the fact that you do a newsletter which helps the parents understand what their child is learning in the classroom. Parent teacher conferences I think would be a big help with both parents and teachers understanding the goals of what the student is learning and what the parent can do to help out if needed. These ideas seem like they really work well and help the class be better.