Parent Teacher Communication Teaching Resources
Make the parent-teacher relationship a true team effort this school year with teaching resources to help you open up lines of communication with parents and guardians and keep them open all school year.
From resources that will help you plan parent-teacher interviews from start to finish to templates for teacher introduction letters to parents and carers, we have everything you need to keep parents in the know about all that's going on inside your classroom throughout the school year.
Are you looking for fresh ideas and tips on how to communicate with parents effectively as a teacher? Read on for some advice from the experienced teachers of the Teach Starter team!
How to Communicate With Parents as a Teacher
Before we dive into this, we want to offer a bit of a disclaimer. The teachers on our team have taught in numerous classrooms in diverse communities around Australia. We know the parents and carers you'll encounter are as different from one another as your students are!
That means there is no one-size-fits-all way to communicate with parents. You may be dealing with language barriers, challenging schedules that make it hard to find time for a phone call and much more. Still, you are not alone, and we hope some of these tips will help!
- Share the Best Way (and Times) to Contact You — Do you prefer to be emailed? Do you want parents to slip notes in their students' folders? Does your school have a schoolwide communication system that parents might already know about? Start the school year by establishing the best ways for parents to contact you, and be clear about when you will be available. Do you check email at the end of the school day, after instruction is complete, for example, or are you inclined to check first thing in the morning? Letting parents know upfront is a good way to set boundaries while establishing that you are there to hear their concerns and questions.
- Keep the Personal and Professional Separate — If you don't have a classroom phone (and the majority of teachers do not), you may feel pressured to hand out your personal phone number to parents. Don't worry. You don't have to! If you prefer texting with parents, or even sharing a phone number, why not set up a Google Voice line so you can keep your personal number separate from your professional life?
- Share Expectations Early — Start the year by sharing your classroom procedures, expectations and rules so parents know right away and aren't hit with a surprise mid-year. If you send a weekly newsletter, you may want to include things like learning goals and assignments that are coming up as well — again, so they get word ahead of the game.
- Get to Know Their Family — Whether it's finding out the spoken language in the home or getting to know who the primary carers of a student are, understanding more about your students' backgrounds and family dynamics can help you be a better communicator with their parents and guardians and get them on board. Sometimes something as simple as reaching out in the family's spoken language is all it takes to make them feel like you're on their team.
How Often Should a Teacher Communicate With Parents?
This is a question our teacher team is often asked. After all, we want to establish open lines of communication with parents, but how much is too much ... and for that matter, how much communication is enough?
The answer, of course, is fairly individual.
Do you have a student with an IEP? Parent participation in the IEP process may be spelled out already. How often communication should happen and exactly what you need to share with the parents of students may be outlined in that child's plan.
What about the parents of other children? How often should you be sending home classroom newsletters or picking up the phone?
When you're overwhelmed with lesson planning, marking and more, it can be tempting to let these things slide — especially if you've had tussles with difficult parents or carers in the past.
Don't forget that getting parents on board with their child's education — and acting as your partner — depends on you making some form of communication a priority.
The good news? Sending home news to the parents of your students once a week is generally enough, and it doesn't have to be a long, arduous process. Here are a few great ways to communicate with parents that are quick and easy but also effective!
- Place Notes in Student Folders — Do your students have homework folders? A simple sticky note with an update on their child, or even one of Teach Starter's printable 'parent notes' can easily be slipped into the folder to alert parents about important information.
- Set Up a Classroom Social Media Account — Are you comfortable creating an Instagram page or Twitter account for your classroom? Posting photos or updates about your class is a quick way to get the word out to parents. Be sure to hide students' faces with an emoji if the parents have not given permission for their children to appear on social media!
- Email Parents Your Classroom Newsletter — Whether it's weekly, fortnightly or monthly, a newsletter that lets parents know some of the topics their students are studying, the dates of important events (such as the class play or picture day) on the calendar is fairly simple to send via email with our Google Slides version!
- Use a Parent Communication App — Some parents want a lot of communication and others don't need much. Allowing parents to opt into messaging via an app allows you to easily message the entire class at once if need be — saving you time — but also allows parents to be the ones who determine if they want to opt in ... or out.
- Pick Up the Phone — It can be daunting to make a phone call (especially in this day and age!), but making a point to call parents with good news about their children is a great way to not just build the parent-teacher relationship but also give yourself an emotional boost. Nothing feels better than getting off a phone call in which you gave someone GOOD news!
- Google Classroom Updates — Does your district use Google Classroom as its LMS? Take advantage of the tool's ability to auto-send a summary each week to parents and guardians.
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Google Sheets Digital Teacher Planner
Start the school year with a ready-made digital lesson plan and record book using our Google Sheets Digital Lesson Planner.
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Meet The Teachers - Template for Back to School BINGO!
Encourage your students to explore their new classroom and meet the teachers with a game of Bingo!
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My Favourite Things List
Organise your school gift exchange in advance with a printable Teacher Favourite Things form!
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Maths Homework Helpers - Early Years
Give your students handy Maths Homework Helper printables to reference when working in class or at home.
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Meet The Teacher Letter - Editable Version
Use these back-to-school templates to create a letter for your new students and their families introducing yourself.
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Free Classroom Newsletter Template - Weekly Snapshot
Use this free classroom newsletter template to communicate important information each week.
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Editable School Notes for Parents - Classroom Reminders
Keep your parents informed with this set of 27 editable notes from the teacher.
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Parent-Teacher Conference Documentation Form
Organise your parent-teacher interviews ahead of time and keep accurate and detailed records of parent communication with a conference documentation form.
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Parent Teacher Interview Templates
Save time, enhance organisation and strengthen the parent-teacher partnership with this set of parent-teacher interview forms.
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Back to School – Meet the Teacher PowerPoint Template
Use an editable slide deck during to foster communication during your 'Meet the Teacher' or 'Back-to-School Parent Information' event.
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Editable Homework Information Sheet
Use this editable template to inform parents of what homework will look like in your classroom.
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Class Party Signup Letter Templates
Prepare for class parties ahead of time with printable Class Party Signup templates for holidays throughout the year.
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Editable Class Newsletter
Give important information to your students’ parents and guardians by using this editable classroom newsletter.
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Positive Notes Home – Parent Communication Templates
Use this editable template to share information with parents and guardians about academic improvement, positive behaviour and more!
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Students’ Strengths and Weaknesses List
Make planning for parent meetings quick and easy with a Student Strengths and Weaknesses list.
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Student Behaviour Contract Template
Create a classroom community and ensure adherence to rules and procedures with a printable Student Behaviour Contract Template.
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Student-Led Conference Templates
Implement student-led conferences in your classroom this year with printable student-led conference templates.
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Meet The Teacher Presentation Template
Introduce yourself and your classroom expectations to parents and students with a customisable Meet the Teacher Slideshow!
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Classroom Wish List - Card Set
Set up a Classroom Donation Station at your Parent Information Night meeting with our printable classroom donation card set.
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Meet The Teacher Scavenger Hunt
Make Parent Information Night a bit more fun with a Meet the Teacher Scavenger Hunt!
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Printable Information Form for Students - Parent Survey
A survey to send home to parents at the beginning of a new school year.
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Maths Activity Ideas for Parents - Multiplication and Division
An information sheet for parents or carers to use when assisting children with multiplication and division at home.
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Maths Activity Ideas for Parents - Addition and Subtraction
An information sheet for parents or carers to use when assisting children with addition and subtraction at home.
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Parent Teacher Interview Planning Template
A planning template for parent teacher interviews.
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Weekly Progress Report Template
Use a printable weekly progress report template to keep parents up-to-date on their student's behaviour and work habits.
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Parent-Teacher Interview Form
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Back to School - Family Survey
Promote parent involvement and get to know your students better with a beginning-of-the-year parent survey template.
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Monthly Newsletter Calendar Templates
Keep students and parents informed of classroom happenings by providing a monthly newsletter with a handy editable newsletter template.
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Meet the Teacher Page Border - Portrait
A 'Meet the Teacher' editable page border to write a note to your students and their families before school begins.
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Maths Activity Ideas for Parents - Place Value
An information sheet for parents or carers to use when assisting children with place value at home.
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Positive Parent Notes - Pastel Dots
A set of parent notes to send home as positive feedback.
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Smoke Alarm Inspection Calendar
Help your students and their families stay safe by reminding them to test their smoke alarms monthly with a printable smoke alarm maintenance calendar.