4 Strategies to Build and Improve Parent-Teacher Communication

This past school year presented many challenges. It also opened our eyes to some welcome developments and changes in K-12 education we can carry into the future.

Teachers could not always be face-to-face with students, and parents found a new appreciation for their role as intermediary between their children and their children’s teachers. As such, remote learning drove a huge increase in the need for parent-teacher communication.

We’ve seen many unique examples of parent-teacher communication over the past year. Parents have asked teachers about where to find assignments or tools. Parents have reached out to teachers with concerns that their children were falling behind. They alerted teachers to technical issues with teleconferencing platforms. And teachers have checked in with the parents of students showing Zoom fatigue.

Whatever the case, the lines of communication are more open than ever. In fact, many educators have noticed the upsides of involving parents through increased communication.

Emily Anne Gullickson is CEO and founder of the nonprofit, A for Arizona. Her organization funds innovation in public education. As she puts it in her article highlighting the long-term impact that COVID-19 has had on K-12 education, “Parents recognize that this is the time to reexamine and reimagine education and what those possibilities are for students. I don’t see parents wanting to go backward.”

How can you build on the gains you’ve made in communicating with parents?

Let’s look at four methods you can use to boost your teacher-parent communication plans for the new school year. They should help you accelerate student learning throughout the summer. They’ll also enable you to get early visibility into any learning gaps leading into the school year.

Why Parental Engagement Matters

Why is parental engagement essential anyway? Before we investigate the strategies, let’s look at why it’s critical. In short, engaged parents help both students and teachers succeed.

Parent engagement is vital to student success. Solid parent-teacher communication is a crucial way to get and keep parents engaged.

Bradford Gartly, Math Department Head at Alberta’s Medicine Hat High School, uses PowerSchool SIS to successfully communicate with parents, which impacts student success. “Parents have informed me that they love that I post my assessments early, and they can chat with their children and help them get ready for their assessments,” he says. “Parents enjoy that I post my marks right away and allows them to talk to their students about school and their progress. If their child is struggling, then the parent can contact the teacher, and we, together, can come up with strategies that will help the student be more successful.”

According to a recent Center for American Progress survey, parents who are active in their child’s education feel better about the direction it’s moving.

What’s more, parents want to engage and communicate with teachers. According to a May 2020 Learning Heroes poll, more than 65 percent of parents surveyed say they are more connected to their children’s education because of remote learning. And 71 percent feel they have a better appreciation of what teachers do. Many are looking for more even involvement.

Here are four ways to capitalize on the parents’ desire to be more connected to their children’s education.

You don’t have to wait until the start of the school year to begin communicating with parents. Many parents would know from their child’s previous teacher if their child left the school year with a learning gap. Summer is a perfect time to begin reaching out to parents to get a sense of their concerns and goals for the next school year. It will also help you work with them to formulate a personalized student plan for the upcoming year.

Pamela Davis-Kean is a University of Michigan professor of psychology and a research professor at the Institute for Social Research. She recently discussed how parent-school communication over the summer can help set students up for success. She sees this coming summer as an opportunity.

“Schools and parents should be assessing where their children are academically and emotionally this summer and providing any academic and emotional support that they think might be needed to get them ready for the fall,” Davis-Kean says, “Some kids just need time with their friends again and to get some additional training on subjects. There may be opportunities for summer camps to provide some needed emotional support and some tutoring to help with academics. Creating Individual Education Plans for each student may be necessary in order to monitor how children are progressing and ‘rebounding’ from the pandemic.”

Different people have different communication styles. You should try to tailor your communication approach to what works for parents as much as you can.

We do have some data to go on, however. Eighty-nine percent of parents say parent-teacher conferences are valuable. Eighty percent of parents prefer texting and phone calls. Seventy-seven percent of parents like email communication. Some districts are even going door-to-door.

You can combine some of these methods. For example, continuing virtual parent-teacher conferences could increase parent participation.

“PowerSchool SIS helps parents see the progress of their children and also allows students to monitor their success. It provides constant communication between students, parents, and teachers,” says Gartley.

Susan Murray-Carrico, Schoology Project Manager at Colorado’s Academy District 20, advises using communication channels that parents are already comfortable with. “In our district, we’re using tools that parents are already familiar with using,” she says. “We’re sending out regular alerts and using the web page. The alerts are coming out at specific timeframes each week, so parents know when to expect them. The webpage contains current information, and they know they can always go back to refer to information and links to resources. It also contains information on how to access Schoology Learning, with a video that shows parents how to do that.”

No matter what methods you try, there’s likely no bad one if you’re continually looking for the best way to communicate. As Dr. Antonio Williams, Principal at Sidney Lanier Senior High School in Montgomery, AL, puts it, “Different strategies are conducive to support from parents with different situations. As a result, I do not believe any strategy is ineffective.”

In addition to the method of parent-teacher communication, there’s also the message. More importantly, you should look for ways to make your message resonate with parents from diverse cultural backgrounds. 

You may find some parents appreciate communication focused on the individual student’s performance. These parents often seek an active role in guiding students. For other parents, they might trust the teacher to make the right decisions. You can also look for ways to check in about how the family is doing. In the end, it’s all about building a relationship based on trust and getting to know parents and students as much as possible

No matter what approach or message style you land on, consistency will keep the lines of communication open. You can couple weekly emails with regular check-ins by text or email. You can combine your communication approaches with real-time information on student attendance, performance, progress, and roadblocks from your district SIS or LMS.

The goal? Keep parents and teachers on the same page to promote a genuine partnership resulting in the most desirable student outcomes.

Of course, while consistency is good, make sure you’re not overwhelming parents with too many emails, messages, or calls. While it’s more of an art than science, balance is essential. As you get to know parents and use the other strategies outlined above, you’ll gain a feel for what works.

How PowerSchool Helps Strengthen Parent-Teacher Communication 

PowerSchool classroom products and PowerSchool SIS work together to provide a comprehensive view of student performance. The products include powerful reporting tools that schools can use to easily and securely share information on student progress with parents. And the PowerSchool Parent Portal and mobile app keep parents more informed—any time and any place.

These interoperable solutions create a foundation, which teachers and parents can build on with productive communication and collaboration to support their students’ success.