The relationship between home and school is truly the success of every child’s educational journey. More now than ever, parents are trying to figure out the educational system; at the same time teachers are pushed to their limits as most are required to deliver their classroom instruction using several different modalities.

We are faced with a time where virtual meetings and even classroom instruction are taking place using some form of technology. As educators, how can we go about ensuring our parents and students are engaged and aware of all of the happenings that are taking place during the pandemic? This may sound nearly impossible, but as the times continue to change, so does our delivery of instruction and means of parent communication.

Communication continues to be a necessity, especially during these trying times. Students who are restricted to only a few days a week of face-to-face instruction or who are receiving their instruction completely virtually still need to be engaged fully just as they were before COVID-19 struck.

This also is the same for families and their engagement. Making parents aware of what the virtual expectations are, as well as the progress their child is making, should continue to be in place. The more parents are aware of what is happening at school, the more likely it will be that the parents will support the school, the teacher, and their child’s learning experience.

Community engagement is also important during this time. With social distancing guidelines in place, it can be difficult for communities and schools to come together to support students, whether that be through sports, fundraisers, or other activities. Schools must think outside of the box and get creative to come up with solutions that allow people to connect while still staying safe.

Strategies for Parent Engagement

Unfortunately, with the times that we are facing and more parents helping their children at home, parent engagement can be more challenging than ever. Sending constant communication home is extremely important to ensure everyone is on the same page in regards to what is happening at school on a daily basis.

Despite challenges and obstacles being in every educator and family’s way this school year, there are still several means of communication that can occur. If a school is completely virtual, they must ensure every child can access the curriculum and receive their instruction virtually.

If this cannot happen, the school must still provide the educational experience that every child is guaranteed once they are enrolled in a school. This would entail forms of communication to take place electronically if students do not receive their instruction in person. This can be done so through emails; apps used by teachers for classroom communication; classroom platforms adapted to have a central location for instruction and set up for instruction, whether it’s synchronous or asynchronous; as well as making phone calls home to parents.

Parent conferences also should not be overlooked. While we are faced with many restrictions and parents are not permitted in the buildings during this pandemic, conferences can still take place. Often conference calls, for which parents just need a working telephone, can take place, or meetings via some type of virtual platform can be used as well. Often districts find themselves using Zoom, Google teams, or even Facetime calls to allow for meetings.

While we still want to keep our schools feeling as close to normal, it is so very important that we continue to make school a fun place to be. Birthdays are something at the elementary level that often brought in parent volunteers and were an exciting time for students. Schools have had to be creative as parents are not permitted in the buildings nor is outside food allowed to be shared. Instead, school cafeterias are getting involved to give parents the opportunity to purchase special snacks for their child on their special day. While this doesn’t work for all schools, it is just one example as to how we can continue to keep school fun and allow parents to join in on the great things that still make the school year feel a bit like it used to.

Strategies for Community Engagement

Community members also play a big part in our school families. During a normal school year, several volunteers have the availability to step foot into our schools and join our classroom communities. Restrictions have been placed on all visitors, which does greatly impact our community and their support.

Several districts are now livestreaming their board meetings. Surprisingly, this has brought a lot of community engagement to our schools. Several districts have witnessed hundreds of community members “zooming” along with administrators and board members during monthly board meetings; where as in a normal school year attendance has only been a handful of people. Discussing how schools and districts are moving forward is often the conversation that takes place during board meetings. By having such a large population of community members logging in to watch, this has enhanced the communities’ engagement during this challenging time.

Another huge event that has attracted a large amount of community engagement is several districts live streaming their sporting events. Community engagement doesn’t end with just what happens within the walls of the school. Instead their support for all activities, including sports, is huge and so important.

Community members are able to log in and watch high school sports right from their living rooms; as well as continue to keep themselves not only safe but also involved in what is happening within the districts. Some districts have even offered sporting events on a huge outdoor screen and have the area set up as a “drive-in”. This again is an example of educators and the school community trying to think of creative ideas to keep everyone engaged and enthusiastic about what happens within our school community.

After months of every family, every school, and every community being impacted by COVID-19, now more than ever it is important for everyone to come together to continue to support our greatest assets: our students. Being creative, kind, and willing to hear how people want to be involved is extremely important. While we may initially think we have to turn community members away based off of guidelines we have to stick to, we must continue to think out of the box and keep our community and families engaged to make the entire educational experience a positive one for our students.

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She is quoted in this article from Families and Students Together as stating, “The way schools care about children is reflected in the way schools care about the children’s families. If educators view children simply as students, they are likely to see the family as separate from the school. That is, the family is expected to do its job and leave the education of children to the schools. If educators view students as children, they are likely to see both the family and the community as partners with the school in children’s education and development.” In other words, in order to best serve our students as children, parent and family engagement is essential.

Strategies for Engaging Parents

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed our ability to reach families in person as we have before. Where we were able to hold monthly or bi-weekly family nights in person before the pandemic, we’ve had to pivot and creatively develop new strategies for engaging parents. Communicating with and engaging parents in the education of their children using technology is now one of the best ways to reach home.

1. Class Dojo

Class Dojo is one of the easiest ways to communicate with parents and families. It is also a great tool for positive behavior management in the classroom. It is a program that is designed for use through their webpage or the app on your phone. You can sign up as a parent, teacher, student, or school leader for free! As a teacher, you can praise your students through the dashboard by assigning them points earned. You can also create a class page to share information and photos from class with your families in real time, directly to their phones. Parents and educators can also message each other with announcements and questions.

This tool is incredibly important because it can help build your class or school culture. It takes the mystery of what is happening inside the school building away and creates a transparency that allows parents and families to feel included in the learning process.

2. Virtual Conferences

Parent conferences can be one of the most powerful ways to come together in support of a student. Due to COVID-19, most schools are not allowing visitors in school buildings or in-person meetings to occur. Zoom is one platform that can help keep the lines of communication open between educators and families. Arranging a virtual meeting to discuss academic performance and behavior is extremely important because much can be lost or misinterpreted through email and written communication. Face-to-face meetings are always preferred and most effective, but if that is not an option, the next best thing is virtually with video.

Another important part of this communication is to include the student. Especially at the secondary level, students should always be a part of their education and be an active participant in decision-making. In the interest of supporting and nurturing our students’ growth into being responsible decision-makers, we must provide opportunities for them to witness collaborative decision-making among stakeholders and to participate in making decisions that affect them personally. Within this safe environment of support and care, students can begin to develop their voice and advocate for themselves.

3. Remind

Remind is a free app for use on any smart device such as a tablet or phone. It is easy to set up and is a very effective way to reach parents, families, and older students. Remind allows two-way messaging between parents and educators that protects personal phone numbers. Some ways this can be used is for announcements such as school closures, reminders about class events and assignments, and for updates on individual students. This app was a huge help for our high school teachers when communicating with our graduating class last spring during the shutdown.

4. Virtual Town Halls

It is the responsibility of schools to engage parents and families and support the development or reinforcement of positive community communications. Without being able to meet in person for events such as Doughnuts with Dads or Muffins with Moms, family movie nights or potluck dinners, creating and nurturing these connections has grown more difficult than before.

One way to combat this is to hold virtual town halls. These could be held on Zoom or any multi-user video platform. To do this, set a date and time, then create a flyer and distribute using email, robo-call, Remind, Class Dojo, or by sharing on your learner management system. Include school leaders, parent engagement coordinators, teachers, staff, parents, and families. Take attendance and consider raffling off gift cards or other prizes.

The topic of discussion or presentation should be relatable to most attendees, as well. It is key to make sure that there is a moderator identified and that parents and families have enough time to participate and speak, if they desire. This type of engagement has been successful in the absence of the ability to meet in person.

The best thing about these resources and ideas is that they ensure equitable access for families. They can all be used on a cell phone with only internet access. Although it may be easy to forget, many low-income families cannot afford unlimited data cellular plans. Almost everyone has a phone, so almost everyone can access the internet. To assume that everyone who owns a cell phone has a plan that allows for phone calls and texting would be erroneous. These web-based apps and programs can be used without cellular data.

*Updated January, 2021

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Educational technology is playing a large role in parent-teacher communication. Here are a few apps that are easy for both teachers and parents to use for instant, regular, communication that helps keep everyone informed on student progress.

Remind

Remind is a private mobile messaging platform that allows teachers to text message directly to parents’ mobile devices. Teachers have the option of sending a one-way message directly to a parent or to the entire class. Teachers are able to start conversations with parents and then disable replies once the conversation is over. This app is straightforward, easy to navigate, and allows teachers to quickly get messages and reminders out to parents.

Class Dojo

Another piece of educational technology that is helping with parent-teacher communication is Class Dojo. Class Dojo has many unique features for parents, teachers, and even students. Once parents download the app, teachers are able to send messages directly to the user. Teachers can also send whole-class messages or post pictures to the class story page. It has an interface much like Facebook, where parents can like posts or leave comments.

Along with these features, Class Dojo also monitors student progress. Each student has their own avatar, and teachers can give and take away points for things like behavior or homework. Parents stay in the know, as they receive notifications when points are awarded or deducted. Teachers find the data helpful and a useful talking point for conferences.

Along with these features, Class Dojo allows students to have a voice, as they are able to post pictures or write journal entries that both the parent and the teacher can view. Class Dojo seems to be continuously evolving and finding more ways to connect parents to the classroom.

Seesaw

For another comprehensive parent-teacher communication tool, Seesaw has something for just about everyone. Teachers are able to send and receive messages to and from parents. Teachers can post reminders or flyers like weekly newsletters or upcoming field trips. One unique feature of Seesaw is that it has an extensive library of assignments that teachers can search for or create on their own and assign to students. Once completed, the teacher is able to accept student work where it then becomes viewable to the parents. Parents can comment or like the posted activity. Seesaw is a great way for teachers and parents to monitor student progress and see exactly the types of things students are working on each day in the classroom.

Parent-teacher communication is a necessary part of education. It builds strong relationships between parents and teachers, helps teachers stay connected to home, and helps parents keep up with school happenings and student progress. Educational technology apps such as Remind, Class Dojo, and Seesaw are allowing parents and teachers to stay connected more than ever before.

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