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I feel parent communication will help a lot when being a teacher. Especially for the students who seem to be struggling. Does anyone have any ideas on what to do about the parents who do not answer emails or phone calls? What are some other suggestions to help the student who is struggling?

For the nonresponsive parents I would suggest writing a letter on school letterhead with your concerns and questions. Then mail it in an envelope with the school's return address. A letter in mail is likely to get attention. Also, if you can get the parents in for a conference, have the student come along with them. It is a good communication technique so all sides can be heard.

Hi Victoria, you are correct, communication with parents is crucial. We all have nonresponsive parents. It’s the most frustrating part of the job. You work hard with a student and need parental support, but can’t ever get them in or talk to them. What I started doing years ago was to get out my digital camera and take thousands of photos of students as they engage in hands-on investigations and working with their peers. I then email the photos to parents with the subject: I thought you would like to see … and then in the body of the email, your child hard at work learning. I then try to come up with positive things to tell the parent about their child and suggest they have a chat with their son/daughter about the photo. In the old days I use to print the photo out on a postcard and send it through the regular mail for the whole world to see. The only reason I stopped this was because of the cost of mailings. I work really hard at having at least two of these communications sent home before I am presented with the need to talk to a parent about any other issues. Parents are generally really responsive to getting back a hold of me because I have taken the time to show them I recognize the good in their child first. The first communications were positive and uplifting, and they want to keep them that way. They are almost always willing to work with me and the child ends up getting better at becoming a student. For those parents that I can’t get a hold of, I have a wonderful administrator that is not afraid to grab the counselor and make a home visit. Some districts even have home visitors whose job it is to go out and make these home visits. I hope these suggestions help. I look forward to hearing what others have to share.

Thank you so much for both of your strategies. They are really helpful. I like the idea of mailing a letter to parents, I never thought of that. I work in a day care now and one way I communicate is to take pictures during the day to send home in their cubbies. I see the parents every day so it is easy to build a relationship with them. When I become a teacher in the public school system this will be something I will have to work on because it is so much different than what I am used to now. I agree that being positive first will create a good relationship with the parents. What is one thing that you felt was a challenge when you first began teaching?

When parents don't answer your emails or calls, there could be many reasons. Some whose primary language is not English may be unsure of how to talk with you. Others may have had bad experiences themselves in school, and when they hear about their child's difficulties they might not want to respond. Too often we only contact parents when there is a problem. The high school I taught at had "Good News" postcards. We were encouraged by the principal to send home brief positive messages. The secretary would address and mail them for us. The post cards were not as intimidating as a phone call for some parents. These opened the door for many conversations, and parents often commented on how nice it was to hear "good news" about their child. The kids (and these were high school students) would say how pleased their parents were. The post cards were not as intimidating as a phone call for some parents. Positive emails would work, too. Mary B

I must say that I really like Sandy's idea of the pictures! Parents rarely get to view their children in the actual classroom setting. Most of what they get is hear say from either the student or the parent and neither tend to be good information. Therefore, I really like this idea and all others involving giving positive news before negative. Going off of this, I was wandering if there would ever be a case where one could get the parents involved directly in the classroom (parent helpers, shadowers, etc.)?

I am currently in school for education. Parental involvement is a huge stressor for me. These comments have been extremely helpful for me! I really like the idea of pictures. It makes it much more concrete for parents

Hi Victoria,
I love Sandy's response and her idea of photos. You might also be interested in a book chapter called Parents as Partners from the Rise and Shine New Teacher book available in the NSTA book store.
Carolyn

I also like the idea of sending picture postcards to parents. It helps parents see what is going on in the classroom, and you also helps build a connection to the student. Our policy is to attempt contact with the parent at least three times - phone and personal meetings. If the parent is uncooperative, administrators issue a "do not return" letter - which states that the student is suspended from school until a parent comes to school for a "sit-down" with teachers. We had a student miss 10 days of school, but it worked at getting the parent in. Sad, sometimes that is the only way we can get parents in to talk to us, but it does work.

At my school we actually have the counselors call and set up an appointment with the parents and all the teachers. Honestly though I have been through several of these meeting but I have not seen a student really change yet because of these meeting.

I suggest sending a letter. Some parents disregard emails and are afraid of phone calls. If you send a letter it is more in their face. It is so easy to avoid a phone call. They can read a letter on their own time.

I think if you open communication early in the school year in a positive manner, then when yo have an issue, parents will read and respond to whatever measure you choose to use. One strategy I used was photographing their child during science lesson, and send them the picture with an explanation of what was happening. I am attaching an example of a picture I ght send to a parent. By sending this type of communication about Jordan early in the year, the parents are more open when I need their support.

Attachments

Jordan.docx (0.55 Mb)

I am currently going to school to become an elementary teacher and one of the things that I have been concerned about it dealing with the non-responsive parent. I'm really glad that I came across this thread! You all have excellent ideas and I'm sure that I will use them when the times comes.

As a student teacher, I am already hearing about those unresponsive parents, and usually it's the ones of the students who need the most help or have behavioral problems. I think communicating is crucial, and documenting EVERYTHING is even bigger to protect yourself when the parent decides to show up and blame you for everything. It's also important to keep the administration or counselor aware of what is occurring and what you have tried. I love the idea of pictures to send home, and in my work this is what I am used to. However, I feel like this is something very risky to participate in these days, regardless of if parents have given consent of not.

As a student teacher I have already dealt with un responsive parents. Communicating with parents and getting parents involved in their child’s education is one of my biggest concerns about becoming a first year teaching. Great suggestion about writing letters. Also thank you Carolyn for the book suggestion Parents as Partners. I am going to check it out!

The unfortunate reality is that not all student have the supportive family that they may need to further their education outside of school. It may be helpful to offer after school tutorials or refer the student to a "study hall" in order for them to receive additional individualized support.