The Importance Of Communication Between Families And School
Communication between families and school, to be effective, must be continuous, two-way, meaningful and must be focused on student learning. Communication is the foundation of any strong educational relationship.
It is proven that when parents and school personnel communicate effectively, positive relationships develop. In addition, problems are solved easier and students make more progress.
Although schools routinely deliver information in the form of newsletters, brochures, manuals with a website, this does not always provide an easy way of communication or get families to respond in a regular way.
Even meetings with the AMPAs (Associations of Mothers and Parents) are often seen by school leaders only as a way to get a message to the families, not as something in two directions. The most effective way to build a truly helpful relationship is to create regular opportunities for open and honest dialogue.
Additionally, when teachers and parents communicate regularly, teachers can provide parents with more concrete information about school events and volunteer opportunities needed in the classroom. Parents, when they realize these opportunities, are often excited to be able to participate and be part of their child’s education in a more active way.
Share information between the school and families
All families should feel that their children’s school keeps them informed on important issues and that it is easy to communicate with teachers, the principal, and other staff members. The key questions to answer to see how the communication is are:
- Does the center offer different ways to communicate every day?
- Does the school or AMPA survey families at least once a year to find out what they think?
- Are the school principal and administrative staff easily accessible to any parent?
- Does the school and AMPA make it easy for parents and families to make connections and communicate with each other?
- Is the website of the center useful and easily accessible for families ?
What we can do to improve effective communication between families and school
First step
To begin with, a team should be created to identify the strengths and needs of the school, both in practice and in theory. Seek to create a ‘family friendly’ school. Also, hold meetings between parents, AMPA and the administrative team of the center to create a discussion related to the way in which healthy communication is adopted between the school and all the families.
What Parents Can Do
- Before we begin, it would be nice to have a meeting of the AMPA and administrative staff of the center. It should look for effective ways in which parents and teachers can share information and plan how to do so in the future.
- Forms can be created. They are an easy way for teachers to regularly inform parents about positive behavior or student achievement. It would be good to encourage staff to contact parents regarding student achievement.
- Colored lines can also be painted on the walls of the hallways, or colored footprints on the floor so that parents know how to get to important places such as the office, the library or the AMPA.
- The school probably has a website. A good idea is to create a Newsletter and with it send news that affects the center and its students among families on a regular basis. Thus, families feel that they are part of the school.
- On the website of the center you can also create a forum and even surveys, to find out the opinion of families on certain issues.
The trust that comes from good parent-school communication makes it a very powerful and necessary tool. It must be remembered that there is life beyond the WhatsApp groups that families themselves create.
