Making Connections: Parent-Teacher Communication
Sara Terrell
Effective parent-teacher communication is essential for supporting student success, but traditional methods like phone calls and printed notices can be time-consuming and inefficient.
Fortunately, technology offers innovative solutions to streamline communication, making it easy for teachers and parents to stay connected and engaged in their shared goal of enhancing a child’s learning experience.
Using Classroom Communication Apps
Education is not only the teacher’s job. It’s critical for parents to get involved in their children’s development and activities. Classroom communication apps have become a game-changer for schools, allowing teachers to send updates, reminders, and important announcements to parents at the drop of a hat.
Gradelink’s SmartSend Pro is a premium communication tool that expands on Gradelink’s built-in email system, SmartSend, by adding text alerts and voice messaging. This way, parents receive urgent information promptly, reducing the chances of missed messages and encouraging a more responsive communication environment.
Let’s face it: kids don’t always stay on top of passing on the necessary communication between parents and teachers. The Student/Parent Mobile App provides parents with real-time updates about their child’s academic progress, attendance, and school events.
Imagine the difference it could make in attending to children’s academic performance if parents are immediately notified when grades drop, or they achieve well. Automated alerts keep them informed without teachers needing to send messages manually.
Shared calendars are also a godsend for busy teachers and families. They can help teachers stay on track with faculty events and due dates, and parents can see when school and class events are taking place and assignments are due.
Setting up Digital Parent-Teacher Conferences
Much has changed in the way parents and teachers communicate in the last decade due to COVID-19 quarantines, some parents living in different cities to their children, and the general busyness of life that sometimes makes it difficult for teachers and parents to meet physically in the same place.
Digital parent-teacher conferences allow for greater flexibility, simplifying matters for parents with busy schedules to attend important meetings. Schools using video-conferencing tools for remote learning can use the same tools to hold virtual meetings. This helps parents stay on top of their child’s progress, regardless of where they are at the time.
To streamline scheduling, teachers can use calendars available on Google for Education and Microsoft for Education to book appointments online. These platforms integrate with Gradelink. Scheduling appointments online eliminates the back-and-forth of coordinating schedules, making the process more efficient for both parties. Tools that integrate well with the Gradelink SIS are preferable to using a third-party app.
Adopting Student Information Systems
Student Information Systems (SIS) serve as a centralized platform for grades, attendance, and assignments, keeping parents in the loop regarding their child’s education. The Gradelink SIS allows parents to easily track their children’s progress, view upcoming assignments, and receive important updates without directly contacting the teacher.
Messaging Features
Not all conversations require a formal meeting or phone call. Messaging tools within school communication platforms are ideal for quick, direct communication. Gradelink’s SmartSend Pro enables administrators to send text, email blasts, and bulk voice messages to large groups for day-to-day things like upcoming events and reminders.
Gradelink’s communication features, SmartSend and SmartSendPro, are just a small, yet super convenient part of a much larger SIS, where all school administration happens in and from one place. The added benefit is that parents and students also have access to certain features, making it easy to stay up to date with the latest happenings.
Sharing Student Portfolios Digitally
Digital student portfolios give parents a comprehensive view of their child’s academic growth over time. Through Gradelink’s partnership with Bulb, teachers can create and share digital student portfolios that showcase assignments, projects, and achievements in a visually engaging format.
These portfolios allow parents to see concrete examples of their child’s work, which opens doors for more meaningful discussions about their learning progress. They can be updated regularly, allowing parents to track their child’s progress over several school years.
A digital portfolio also has value for the student:
- It helps them reflect on their learning processes and the results thereof
- They can organize and present their accomplishments in this space.
- It teaches self-assessment skills.
- It’s helpful for college applications or job applications if the student is not going to study directly after graduation.
Using Surveys to Gather Parent Feedback
Effective communication is a two-way street. Conducting parent surveys helps teachers gather valuable insights into parent concerns, preferences, and expectations. Online survey tools are a simple way to collect and analyze responses, giving the school the opportunity to take action according to the results.
Regularly surveying parents about their experiences with school communication, classroom engagement, and student support services can help schools identify areas for improvement and strengthen the relationships between parents and teachers.
Creating Online Resource Hubs
An online resource hub is a one-stop destination for parents to access important information, from school policies and event calendars to homework help and extracurricular activities. Schools can use their website, an LMS, or a parent portal within Gradelink to provide a centralized location for these resources.
By keeping essential information easily accessible, schools can minimize the number of routine and repetitive inquiries teachers receive and empower the parents to find their answers independently. Some schools also include video tutorials, FAQs, and interactive guides to help parents navigate digital tools to help support their children’s education.
Maximize The Benefits of Technological Communication
While there’s no substitute for a face-to-face conversation with your child’s teacher to build relationships, teachers’ and parents’ busy lives don’t always allow for personal interaction.
The technological solutions listed above have revolutionized and streamlined parent-teacher communication, and with educational technology like Gradelink, parents, and teachers can collaborate to support children’s education and development.
Click here to see how to foster better school communication with Gradelink’s built-in tools.
Sara Terrell is a versatile writer covering topics from education to business.