I think one of the most difficult things to do as a teacher is to maintain constant contact with the parent or guardian of your students. Whether it be a disciplinary issue or for praise, we don’t always have accurate contact information. Last week at our school faculty meeting, teachers gave suggestions of what they do when the number or email for a parent or guardian doesn’t work for them ( I will include the list below). My question is what do you do? How can you keep contact with every parent. I know most teachers, depending on the type of school schedule can have anywhere from about 60-120 students. Is it possible to maintain contact with EVERYONE throughout the year? Is it fair to neglect a high achieving student? As a new teacher these are things that I struggle with daily. I think I just need more hours in a day to properly do my job, let alone all the stuff I face when I get home. I know this is a blog but I think that it could be more useful as a resource for advice in which I will post questions and hopefully I can get some bites and leads to potential solutions. Please feel free to comment as it may not only help me, but others that come to the page. Thanks!
List of ways to contact parents/guardians:
· Get the student to pull out their phone and call their parent immediately.
· Email counselor or AP for assistance.
· Tell the students that you need EMERGENCY contact information in case there is an accident in the lab.
· Send a contact sheet home at the beginning of the year.
· Have parents email that they have gotten the syllabus so that you have the parents email address.
· Contact anyone grandma, cousin, aunt, uncle, etc…
· Get a student data sheet.
· If a number works contact the office to update it. (Quan, Shackleford)
· Talk to other teachers that teach the student or a sibling of that student.
· Email other teachers.
· Directly ask the student for an accurate number. Be sure to put on your “game face.”
· Look at the “blue card.” Located in the main office with the school nurse.
· Use the mailing address to ask the parent to contact the school or share your concerns.
· If the parents are on PowerSchool then their email is on PowerSchool. Use the email address associated.
· Find out if they have a coach or advisor, they will have a number.
· Trick them by asking them for a number to send praise home when they are having a good day or made a good grade.
· Ask Bautista for assistance.
· If EC or ESL they will have a number on file with case manager.
· Look through the cum folder at enrollment paperwork, and emergency contact information.
Hope this is helpful!
Not sure how your current experience trying to contact parents compares with Mahar, but I know trying to contact every parent AND actually get a response from them all seems like a nearly insurmountable task. Not many students’ parents have an email address at Mahar at least (which would be the most convenient way) and many do not answer their phones. I have never had a parent call me back after leaving them a message either (sadly). Most of the time, the high achieving students’ parents come to parent’s night, so you do get a chance to meet them and praise their son/daughter. Last semester I did send home a letter to parents at the beginning of the class, explaining my class, its procedures and my contact info. I think next year I will do the same, but maybe offer them a homework grade for bringing back a signed slip saying the parents received it. It just makes me wonder though, the students that seem to struggle the most (or have the most apathy), their parents seem to be the hardest to get a hold of.
I see the same things. We have just implemented powerschool so it is suppose to contain contact information but I have been unsuccessful in tracking down working parent/guardian contact information. I even tried to send home letters to be signed and returned, I sent home about 15 and received 1 back. I think everyone faces these difficulties and I don’t know if there is an easy way to solve it.