Communications & Feedback (Tool 2)

Positive connections that foster interaction and establish a nurturing environment of trust and support.

Jump to: Roles & responsibilities | Wellbeing structures

Communication & feedback

Traditional best practices with a tweak

Connecting with parents

Address parents by name
Lead with good news
Make positive calls home
Communicate often
Listen to learn
Thank parents
Leverage technology tools
Smile

5 teacher communication tips

Promote two-way communication: Encourage interactive communication by asking parents for feedback and sending personalized messages.
Consider parent preferences: The communication approach impacts the effectiveness. See the “Communications channels” data below.
Be concise: Keep messages short and clear. Families are busy. Use bullets, graphics, pictures and headlines.
Be clear and warm: To prompt action, messages must be clear and the tone should be motivating. Jargon can cause confusion.
Use technology tools: Identify tools your district has adopted that can be used to support effective and timely communication.

Data to inform

Communication channels

Text messages
- Parent-identified effective channel: 80%
- Channel used: 28%
Phone calls
- Parent-identified effective channel: 80%
- Channel used: 26%
Online messaging
- Parent-identified effective channel: 79%
- Channel used: 22%
Email
- Parent-identified effective channel: 77%
- Channel used: 62%
Video conferencing
- Parent-identified effective channel: 75%
- Channel used: 25%
Online portal
- Parent-identified effective channel: 69%
- Channel used: 36%
School website
- Parent-identified effective channel: 67%
- Channel used: 24%

2020 tweak

For a chart you can use to keep track of the helpful tools you use, please download document as a PDF.

Helpful tools

Web conferencing: I use an application, such as Zoom, to hold virtual face-to-face meetings with families.
Communication systems: I use an application, such as Remind, to text personalized messages to caregivers.
Learning systems (Google): I use features in learning systems to interact asynchronously with parents.
Online portals: I post attendance and grades for parents in the student system.

Use the tools below to reflect and plan

Check your strengths and write notes related to your existing practices and future plans. As you record your thoughts remember to be explicit, consistent, and adaptable. After you’ve reflected, use the chart in the above PDF or keep track of your responses in another way to share ideas with your colleagues.

Celebrate your current successes
Record ideas you’d like to explore further
Identify support and resources you will need

Resources

“Why school communication matters” by Kitty Porterfield & Meg Carnes

There are so many competing priorities within a school day, communication is a function often completed in haste and out of need versus with thoughtful and intentional planning. This text addresses how to think more strategically about communications in order to more effectively reach all stakeholders. Listening to learn is just one of the many key communication and feedback strategies addressed in this resource.

Act now: Strategies and tools

Best practice | Listen to learn: When you really listen to the needs of a stakeholder, you can hear what they are actually saying and provide support that is tailored to their specific need. How do you listen to the person who is supporting student learning at home if they are not sure how to get in contact with
you?

Do not assume families know how to support student learning in a remote or hybrid learning setting or know how to seek help when needed. Consider using templated letters of key contacts, including phone numbers and email addresses. Additionally, include best times to make contact and expected response times. This strategy will foster two-way communication between school and home.

Templated letters can be created by teachers and leaders alike. A templated communication can be shared in a printed or electronic form. It can be posted on a website or stored in a shared drive for multiple users to access and update. A templated communication creates consistency across a school district or building, an aspect of two-way communication that is valued by stakeholders.

Roles & responsibilities

Traditional best practices with a tweak

Fostering family engagement

Actively creating opportunities for family collaboration
- Meaningfully involve families
  - Family engagement
Family composition, challenges and experiences
- Get to know families
  - Family engagement
Trust and mutual respect
- Build positive relationships
  - Family engagement

Areas of family involvement

Parenting: Home environment supports learning
Communicating: Two-way communication
Volunteering: Family school program support
Learning: Families involved in learning at home

Data to inform

Remote learning prepared

Fifty-four percent of parents report that they feel prepared to support their child doing schoolwork at home.

2020 priorities: Families support learning

Learning space: Assist children in creating a learning space and schedule.
Encouragement: Offer encouragement to support engagement and learning.
Support: Provide help when children need assistance.
Balance: Balance learning and social-emotional needs.

Use the tools below to reflect and plan

Celebrate your current successes
Record ideas you’d like to explore further
Identify support and resources you will need

Resources

“The Distance Learning Playbook” by Douglas Fisher, Nancy Frey and John Hattie

The pandemic teaching of mid-2020 was not really distance learning, but rather crisis teaching. But starting now, teachers have the opportunity to prepare for distance learning with purpose and intent―using what works best to accelerate students’ learning while maintaining an indelible focus on equity. This text provides insight in applying best instructional practices to a remote or distance learning environment.

Act now: Strategies and tools

Best practice | Parents as partners: Students are supported in different ways in a remote or hybrid learning environment. Some learners have a parent at home to help them, while other learners are learning with the assistance of a grandparent or from a childcare facility. There are learners completing their academic assignments alone, while others are working in an environment filled with other siblings or family members. Some students are completing schoolwork during hours that mirror the traditional school day, while others are learning in the evening or on the weekends.

It is important to understand that the at-home experience a student is encountering when learning at a distance is not an equitable experience. One size does not fit all. Partnering with parents, or whomever is providing a network of support for remote or hybrid student learning is a key practice.

Establishing a means of soliciting insight into how the remote learning experience is going is a great method for developing and strengthening the home-to-school partnership.

Well-being structures

Traditional practices with a tweak

Supporting the whole child:

Healthy
Safe
Engaged
Challenged
Supported

Support the whole child through:

Health education
Physical activity
Nutrition services
Health services
Counseling & services
Social emotional
Physical environment
Employee wellness
Family engagement
Community involvement

COVID teen perspective

Percentage of teens who say remote learning is … compared to in-person schooling (rounded)

19%: Much worse
40%: Worse
21%: The same
10%: Better
9%: Much better

Families supporting students in coping with COVID-19 changes

Remain calm, listen and offer reassurance.

Be a role model
Focus on the positive
Maintain a routine
Help others

Talk to children and provide accurate info.

Encourage discussions
Correct misinformation
Monitor content appropriateness

Encourage healthy lifestyle practices.

Good hygiene
Balanced diet
Exercise
Rest/sleep

Use the tools below to reflect and plan

Celebrate your current successes
Record ideas you’d like to explore further
Identify support and resources you will need

Resources

“Social-emotional learning in the classroom” by William Ribas, Deborah Brady and Jane Hardin

During the pandemic, placing priority on supporting the whole child is paramount. In a remote or hybrid learning environment, it is critical that families and educators partner to implement wellbeing structures that encourage an atmosphere of positivity and hope for students. This text
provides readers with actionable classroom strategies that can be used in a remote or hybrid learning environment to develop student well-being skills to use now and in the future.

Act now: Strategies and tools

Best practice | Healthy home habits: It is important for learners to start the day off on the right foot. Developing healthy habits at home is just one method for creating positive well-being structures for student learning.

Families and educators can partner to support healthy habits at home. Making healthy food choices, ensuring personal hygiene, and participating in physical activity are all great healthy habits to make part of a daily well-being structure.
Abraham Lincoln said, “give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spent the first four hours sharpening the axe.” Having a plan in place is more than half the battle in achieving successful outcomes. Students, families and educators can partner together to create a student well-being plan to support healthy home habits. A student wellbeing plan can be incorporated into synchronous or asynchronous remote and hybrid lesson plans.

Implementation of a plan provides an opportunity for conversation between students and a means for determining if other supports are needed for a student to find wellbeing success in a remote or hybrid setting.