Communicating With Parents / Guardians Page 6
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26Letters
W arm and welcom ing letters create a positive first im pression. Letters to parents/guardians
should be purposeful, clear and concise with an inviting tone. Parents/guardians appreciate
knowing well in advance of special activities, field trips, assem blies, concerts, etc.
Newsletters
The Bruce-Grey Catholic District School Board does not have a policy or procedure regarding
the form atting of parent/guardian newsletters. Check with your administrator regarding the
expectations in developing m onthly or term newsletters. Adm inistrators should review all letters
and newsletters before sending to parents/guardians.
Em ail
The Bruce-Grey Catholic District School Board does not have a policy or procedure regarding
em ail com m unication with parents/guardians. Check with your administrator regarding sending
out em ail com m unications with parents/guardians. E-m ailing students is not recom m ended.
Book Bag
Elem entary classroom s m ay have book bags that go hom e each day or each week. The
Bruce-Grey Catholic District School Board's priority is literacy. Com m unicating through books and
writing is critical to increasing students' literacy achievement. Book bags can be highlighted as an
engaging way to get every student reading at hom e with parents/guardians.
Establishing Partnerships with Parents/Guardians
The im portance of developing strong parent-teacher partnerships is often overlooked.
Teachers and parents/guardians share a com m on interest in helping students to achieve their
fullest potential. You can welcom e parents/guardians as partners in learning by creating conditions
where they can assum e roles as advisors, collaborators and supporters. In these m eaningful roles,
parents are not m ere spectators - they are active participants in the teaching-learning process.
Trust, respect and honesty are necessary conditions for parent-teacher relationships to flourish.
Mutual support and open com m unication between the school and the hom e create a clim ate where
the student is at the heart of the learning partnership.
Many teachers, particularly in elem entary school, phone the parents of their students early in
the school year to m ake that im portant first contact. As well as the teacher explaining som e of the
classroom expectations, it is an opportunity to learn from the parents about other dem ands on the
student's time like m usic lessons, com m unity sports and other club activities or m eetings.
Enlisting the assistance of parents is an im portant strategy to em ploy. Your approach will
have a lot to do with the level of cooperation you will receive. Very few parents object to a teacher
approaching them with an idea that m ight help their child if the idea shows the teacher's
com m itm ent to the success of that child. Parents m ay react negatively when told about a
m isdem eanour with, "Here's what your child did today!" Consider parents as part of the support for
a m utually-agreed upon solution to discipline problem s.
New Teacher Induction Program - 2011
Page 95
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