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 conferences from start to finish to templates for teacher introduction letters to parents and guardians, 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 across the US. We know the parents and guardians 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 a whole lot 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? Want parents to slip notes in their students' folders? Does your district 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 cellphone 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 off 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 caregivers 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? IDEA specifically defines parent participation in the IEP process, and 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, grading and more, it can be tempting to let these things slide — especially if you've had tussles with difficult parents or guardians 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.
There's also a federal law that comes into play here. The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) defines “parental involvement” as "participation of parents in regular, two-way, and meaningful communication involving student academic learning and other school activities."
In other words? It's the law that parental communication occur!
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!
- Stick 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 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) and which specials are 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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Student Progress Report Parent Letter Templates
Track academic and behavioral data with this set of progress report templates.
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A Teacher’s Favorite Things List
Organize your school gift exchange in advance with a printable Teacher Favorite Things form!
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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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Parent-Teacher Conference Documentation Form
Use this printable Teacher-Parent Conference Form to organize your parent-teacher conferences ahead of time and keep accurate and detailed records of parent communication.
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K-2 Math Homework Helpers
Give your students handy Math Homework Helper printables to reference when working in class or at home.
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Grade Level Goal Grids (K-2)
Inform students and parents of their grade level goals with standards-based grade level goal grids for Kindergarten through 2nd grade.
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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 behavior and work habits.
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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 Behavior Contract Template
Create a classroom community and ensure adherence to rules and procedures with a printable Student Behavior Contract Template.
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Parent Teacher Conference Sign In Sheet Templates
Be prepared for conferences with a printable pack of parent teacher conference sign-in sheet templates.
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Classroom Wish List - Card Set
Set up a Classroom Donation Station at Meet Your Teacher Night with our printable classroom donation card set.
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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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Printable 2024 Calendar with Holidays and School Events
Organize your event planning for the whole year with this handy 2024 calendar of school events.
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Happy Note Home
Communicate positive messages to parents and guardians with a Happy Note Home letter template.
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Parent Teacher Conference Templates
Save time, enhance organization and strengthen the parent-teacher partnership with this set of parent-teacher conference forms.
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Editable Parent Reminder Notes
Keep your parents informed with this set of 27 editable reminder notes.
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Classroom Wish List – Giraffe
Display your back-to-school needs for your new parents on this classroom wish list display.
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Positive Parent Notes - Books
A set of parent notes to send home as positive feedback.
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Smoke Alarm Maintenance Calendar - English and Spanish
Help your students and their families stay safe by reminding them to check their smoke alarms monthly with a printable calendar.
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Schoolwide School Supply List Template
Create a school-wide school supply list to share with the community using an editable school supply list template.
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Editable Class Syllabus Templates
Create your own syllabus with fully editable class syllabus templates.
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Digital SLP Caseload Data Collection Sheets - Google Sheets
Use a digital Speech Therapy Data Sheets to track student data, parent meetings, schedules, and more!
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Missing Assignment Templates
Promote student accountability for completing assignments with a printable missing work log and parent contact form.
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Standards-Based Parent-Teacher Conference Form (K-2)
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Accident Report Form
Notify parents and guardians of any accidents at school with a printable accident report form for schools.
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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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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 customizable Meet the Teacher Slideshow!
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Would You Rather? Parent Teacher Meeting Game
Engage students and parents in a fun game of Would You Rather? to spice up your open house for school.
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Meet The Teacher Station Signs - Editable
Organize your Meet the Teacher event by setting up classroom stations using our printable Back to School Station Signs.
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Editable Teacher Forms for the Classroom
Use this collection of teacher printables to organize parent volunteers, receive feedback from substitutes, keep students up to date on missed work and more!
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Monthly Newsletter Calendar Templates
Keep students and parents informed of classroom happenings by providing a monthly newsletter made with a handy editable newsletter template.