Building Trust with My Students’ Parents

First impressions can persist, so it is important to make your initial encounter with parents a positive one. Try sending an email or letter home before the first day of school. Tell them a little about yourself, how you are getting the classroom ready, and that you are excited to meet their children. Include a sneak peek at some fun activities that you plan to do. 

It is also important to make the first day of school memorable. If possible, greet each child and their parents in the school yard or at your classroom door. Your interactions with students as they arrive in the classroom play an important role in building a strong teacher-student connection, and their parents will appreciate it too. Alloprof has created a poster with popular greetings that you can tailor to your class. Putting up a welcome sign may also help.

Meet the Teacher Night is the perfect time to seal the deal. Have a presentation ready that will showcase your curriculum and the books and other materials you will use throughout the year. Be transparent about your classroom policies, expectations, and how you will grade. Parents appreciate being well informed about their child’s academic journey. To infuse some excitement into your presentation, consider framing it as “A Day in the Life of Our Classroom,” for instance, and walk parents through the activities and routines of a typical school day.

Here are a few more ways to demonstrate your interest in being present and connecting with their children:

• Provide a space where parents can leave a quick note about their child, such as their learning style, interests, and any specific needs or concerns, which can help you get to know the child and tailor your instruction to better meet their needs. 
• Decorate your walls and bulletin boards with pictures of your current students hard at work.
• Create a volunteer list. Parents can sign up to volunteer for special events or be a guest speaker. 
• Have each child write a letter to their parents that will be given to them on Meet the Teacher Night.

Open and ongoing communication with parents will go a long way to building a relationship based on trust and mutual respect. Gone are the days when a teacher reached out only when they had bad news to share. Today’s parents want to know about the learning taking place in the classroom. To do this, some teachers send home a plan of the week or weekly newsletter. Others send home pictures of the activities happening in class. Some schools even use educational apps, like Class Dojo, to communicate with parents.

A more delicate approach is needed when communicating about behaviour and academic progress. In such cases, an email or phone call is the better option. Acknowledge and praise the child’s strengths before addressing any areas for improvement or concern. If you commit to follow up with an email or another phone call, ensure that you do so. The information and observations that you share with parents provide them with additional support at home and can lead to better outcomes for the student. It will also demonstrate your compassion and care for their child.

The parent-teacher meeting is a key moment for building stronger relationships with parents. These meetings generally centre on three objectives:

• Sharing academic progress and the social-emotional development of the child
• Hearing directly from parents
• Crafting plans and solutions together

Once again, parents want to know that you have their child’s best interests at heart, so come prepared with samples of their work and a list of encouraging statements. Be an active listener too; listen to their concerns, be open to their feedback and perspectives, and show empathy. This acknowledges their own expertise as the primary caregivers of their children. When coming up with solutions, invite parents to participate in decision-making processes. To help parents get ready for parent-teacher meetings, Alloprof has two very handy tools: parent-teacher meetings: how to prepare and an action plan preparation guide. Feel free to send these home!

Research indicates that children whose parents actively engage in their child’s education tend to have higher academic achievement, greater school attendance, and better overall behaviour while in school. Parent involvement also builds a sense of community within the school. So why not get parents involved in some fun projects with your class? Here’s a list of ideas:

• Invite parents as guest speakers. Parents are great experts! Invite them to speak to your class about their profession or personal interest and hobbies. This is a great way for students to see how the skills they learn in class have real-world applications. 
• Have a Family Show and Tell. Classrooms are hubs of multiculturalism. Parents and their children can host a joint show-and-tell session where they share about their cultural background, traditions, and customs. What a way to promote diversity and cultural understanding among your students!
• Host mini parent-led workshops. Parent volunteers can lead workshops on various topics, such as art, cooking, fitness, or mindfulness. Students will love the hands-on learning experiences!
• Surprise students with parent Mystery Readers. This will be particularly fun for younger students. Parents can record themselves reading a story. Then surprise students by sharing the video with the class during storytime. 
• Have parents join in on theme days. This could be an afternoon of math games or even some fun science experiments. Parents will enjoy spending some hands-on time with their children.