Teachers must have an open communication with parents in order to provide the most support for students so that students can have greater success in school.

As I began to take on more responsibilities in the classroom, I also opened up more communication with the parents of the students in my class. Every Friday, I sent home a Friday letter explaining what we did that week in school and anything parents needed to know for the upcoming weeks of school. I included my e-mail address in each letter and asked parents to contact me with any questions, comments, or concerns. After sending out the first letter, I was surprised by the numbers of e-mails I received regarding parental concerns for their children at school. These e-mails helped me connect with the parents so that we could work together in the education of their child.

One specific example of this was a letter for John’s* parents in regards to his reading level. In our classroom, we have different levels of books that are denoted by letters of the alphabet and colors. Blue dot books, which are levels A-G, are the easiest on our shelves, and red dots, levels M-O, are the most difficult. We test the students periodically to move them up in the progression of leveled books, but John’s* parents felt that he had surpassed the level he was placed at and should be tested to move ahead. They sent me the attached e-mail (which I have copied and pasted onto a word document) to make me aware of their desire to move him to a higher reading level. Because I was never before in charge of determining reading levels, I had previously been unaware of exactly which level my students were at individually. This e-mail made me more aware, and I not only tested John* and moved him up, I also tested other students who were progressing quickly in their reading abilities.

This is an excellent example of how teachers and parents must work together for a child to have the maximum success in school because John’s* parents helped me bring John up to a more appropriate reading level for him. Without their suggestion, I would not have tested him as quickly, and he may not have progressed as quickly as he recently has with his reading.

*Name changed for privacy purposes

The parent/teacher conferences were a great experience for me as far as parent communication goes. Although I had attended ten conferences in October, I did not have the chance to speak personally with my student’s parents because I was not nearly as involved with teaching at that point. In the April conferences, however, I had much more experience with the students and my mentor teacher was not present, as she was on maternity leave by that point. This left the conferences in my hand, and I ended up leading all twenty conferences with minor assistance from Mrs. Stanton, the long-term substitute.

The conferences helped me learn more about each student because I was able to get the perspective of their behaviors at home. They also allowed me to collaborate with parents to come up with ideas to further their child’s success in school. One specific example was from the conference with Megan’s* mother. Megan* has been struggling to complete her assignments in a timely manner. The work had been piling up on her desk, and she frequently spent recess time inside finishing assignments. At the conference, I brought up this point to the mother and asked if she had any suggestions to improve the situation. After some discussion, she came up with the idea to send home a checklist to show her how Megan* did with her work each day, and if she had to stay in at recess. This would allow her to use reinforcements or punishments at home, which would hopefully provide a greater incentive for Megan* to complete her work in a timely fashion.

Mrs. Stanton and I created a sheet that we could fill out on a daily basis and send home to Megan’s* mother. After a week of this parent/teacher communication, Megan* is already showing an improvement in her work ethic and is working harder to complete assignments on time. She still stayed in at recess a few days, but only needed to stay in for a short time. This evidence shows the importance of parent/teacher communication because it demonstrates how the added communication is already improving Megan’s* success in school. Because teachers and parents are the most influential people in children's lives, collaboration is the key to success.

*Name changed for privacy purposes