Spring is a great time to connect with families. Testing anxiety starts to run high and the time left in school is critical to the success for our students. Over the years, we have learned ways in which communication between school and home can be enhanced. The Five Simple Principles to Engage Every Family ™ includes Principle #2 Communicate Effectively and Build Relationships. Here are some ideas that will help you do just that:
1. Share information in a timely fashion. The more quickly and thoroughly information is shared with families, the less likely families will be confused, frustrated or angry which minimizes rumor and misconception. Verify that your communication is both received and understood.
2. No Surprises. We as educators don’t like surprises. Neither do families. As the end of the year approaches, be sure that families are well informed of expectations as far ahead as possible.
3. No Blame. When things don’t go exactly right, don’t point fingers and blame students, parents, the school, the administration or other entities. Describe the challenge and work together to find solutions. It really doesn’t matter how the problem started or who started it.
4. Keep an open mind. Don’t prematurely judge people or make conclusions about them or their motives. Work directly with families, eye-to-eye, face-to-face. Remember, every family wants their children to exceed them in their quality of life. We can build on this.
5. Keep calm. There are difficult people on the earth. Always remain calm. Remember the old saying “To change a difficult person, you must first change yourself.
Many more ideas exist which can be employed to improve communication and build important relationships with families. You can find all of them in Dr. Constantino’s new book Engage Every Family: Five Simple Principles (Corwin, 2016).
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