I bet you have heard the proverb, “It takes a village to raise a child.” As an educator, I will part of that village for every student in my classroom. This is the third of four in a series of posts that discuss a strategy to include families and communities in my efforts to educate their children. If you missed Post One, Post Two, or Post Three you can certainly start here as they are not presented in any specific order.

I have worked at schools who are using Remind, I think it is a really fabulous tool for people in this day and age. However, I have taught in classes with parents who do not have email, easy access to internet at home and only have a land line.  I know one teacher that makes it a goal to call three families about their students every week to give them praise. For families with a language barrier, she sends short postcards with the same praise after using a translator to help craft the message properly. I think it is important to include phone calls, newsletters and other physical methods of communication. Newsletters are a great way to give praise to students successes, preview what is coming up in the classroom and let parents know of enrichment opportunities in the community. “The newsletter items can serve as a starting point for family discussions” (Eby, Herrell, & Jordan, 2011 pg. 184).

References

Eby, J., Herrell, A., & Jordan, M. (2011). Teaching in k-12 schools:  A reflective action approach (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River,  NJ: Pearson Education Inc.