A parent communication log template is used by teacher to inform the parents about how their children perform in school in terms of academics, extracurricular and overall behavior. There are various ways to share this information via letters, phone calls, face-to-face meetings, emails, and more. But, a parent communication log is the best way to do this.
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What is a communication log?
A parent communication log is the most popular method of keeping track of all communications between you and your students’ parents. This is especially useful in preventing forgotten communication or miscommunication. You should consider the following tips in order to optimize the value of the communication log template;
- You should make the participation of both you and the parents necessary. If one of your students didn’t sleep well, had a particularly bad or good morning or evening or might feel ill, then it is equally essential that you as a teacher are also informed about them.
- Make it as simple as possible in order to increase the efficiency of your log for both sides. For checking or elements such as scales and ratings for behaviors, you can add as many yes or no boxes. Additionally, the use of checkboxes, supplemented by one or two sentences instead of a while dissertation enhances the opportunities that you and the parents will write on the log on daily basis.
Why is communication essential with parents?
You can expect an increase in trust and understanding in case there is enough communication between parents and teachers. Then, to support your students’ development and well-being, you and the parents will work together better. That’s why, effective communication is crucial. On a parent communication log, you can record your communications.
You should have a positive relationship working with parents. This indicates that the knowledge and experiences will get shared to understand your students’ conditions better. You can work together with parents to develop plans to support your students in case you use a parent-teacher communication log effectively.
Communicating with parents properly:
You should consistently communicate with parents in a considerate and respectful way. After that, log the details of your interactions on a parent communication log. With the help of this log, you can also see how frequently you have talked to your students’ parents over the phone. By considering the following tips, you can do this properly while interacting and communicating with parents;
- You have to highlight and share the positive points of your students’ behaviors, experiences, and learning.
- On the basis of your observations, only give your students’ parents with accurate information.
- Before you say anything, always think, particularly when talking to parents about sensitive or difficult issues.
- You should always enable the parents to make the final decisions. You can offer recommendations but the parents will have the final say.
- Think about first in case you are in doubt of what to say or how to say something.
- You should always use ordinary language so that parents will understand you better.
Tips for communicating effectively with parents:
By forming a bond with parents and informing them of your students’ progress, you can make a positive learning atmosphere. Teacher-parent communication can take many forms as well as have many benefits. Your communication can be as simple as a short note in order to celebrate one of your students’ accomplishments or a comprehensive newsletter. It should details all of the exciting events happening in school.
When you and your parents work together, your students must succeed. Here are some recommendations to communicate effectively with parents;
Send a survey to the parents
There are various ways that you can get in touch with your parents. Before the school years starts, you can contact them as soon as possible. A parent contact log can be very helpful. Communicating early enables you to develop a good relationship with the parents. It provides you the time to organize yourself based on what you have talked about.
Create a communication schedule
You can come up with a schedule for communication when the parents have provided you the communication method of their choice. Make an outline that in a given amount of time what type of information you should share. After that, make a note of it on a planner. You can also take note of important student accomplishments and academic progress. Then, send celebratory notes to the parents.
Send a fill-in-the-blank letter
Students and their parents consider you as the one with all the answers. You should find a way to have the involvement of parents in your student’s education. It can be a very powerful idea. Parents are the entities in authority your students look up to at home. Your students will have a personal stake in their own education when parents have a personal stake in their child’s education.
Create a course syllabus to set expectations
To give parents and students an idea of what to expect, it is always a great move to send out a course syllabus to them. Sending this to parents via email to give them with a point of reference at any time throughout the term.
Use a template in order to make it easier for you to create a newsletter. In this way, you can draft the newsletter and update it every month easily. Also, send it to parents via email or sending it home.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, a parent communication log template is the best way to keep all of the parents informed regarding their child’s progress, school-wide activities, or class projects. You should feature all this information in a professional manner. Teacher and parents should work together in order to make their children successful.
