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    TOOLKIT

    Team up with Families to Accelerate Learning

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    Communicating with Families

    Personal, two-way communication is the best way to build a strong partnership with families to support student growth, but if it’s the only way you are communicating with families it can be hard to maintain and even harder to make sure you’re reaching everyone. That’s why it’s helpful to use a variety of communication tools and strategies, including some that are high-level (email blasts, newsletters, social media), and some that are personalized (messages, notes, phone calls).

    Create A System

    If there isn’t a plan for it, communicating with families is something that can fall through the cracks. Having a system in place for tracking which families you have communicated with recently can help ensure that you are reaching everyone on a regular basis.

    Building Trust with Families

    Show Families that You Value Their Partnership

    It can take time to build trust with families; asking genuine questions to get to know families and their perspective on their children’s education can be a way to accelerate that important trust-building process. Through surveys or in-person conferences, try asking families to share their hopes and dreams for their children, as well as information on their children’s strengths, needs, and learning differences.


    Spend Time in the Community

    Especially if you are teaching in a neighborhood where you don’t live, spending time in the community is a great way to connect with families. You can do some of your shopping at the local grocery store, visit the local park, or attend school and community events—whether or not you bump into students and families you will begin to develop an appreciation for the community and find points of connection.

    Gathering Data from Families

    Get Some Baseline Information

    We often begin the year with access to students’ academic data, but it can take longer to learn about the nuances of students’ interests, social emotional needs, and lives outside of the classroom. Asking families what their children enjoy learning about, who they learn with, and how and where they access information outside of the classroom can help us tailor instruction to better engage students and meet their needs.

    Check In About Home Learning

    Often homework gets sent home, completed and returned without any dialogue around what is and isn’t working (beyond whether or not students are completing it). You can make homework more meaningful by getting by feedback from families about how and when students are doing homework, what they are struggling with, and what questions families have about providing students with support.

    Sharing Data with Families

    Put Data in Context

    Families may see student data regularly, but they may not know what a level P in reading is or understand what it means to have mastered counting on from ten. Use data and student work samples to show families how their children are progressing throughout the year relative to grade-level standards and expected growth.

    Support Progress Monitoring

    Most families have access to their student’s online gradebook, but they may not have a deep understanding of how to use it. Consider providing families with guidance on how to look at grades with their child and how to have conversations about goals and progress with them.