Phil Harrison Coaching

Quality teacher-to-family relationships are essential in schools, and as such they must be tended to in order to be healthy. In the book Every Connection Matters: How to Build, Maintain, and Restore Relationships Inside the Classroom and Out, authors Michael Creekmore and Nita Creekmore provide the following suggestions related to teacher-to-family relationship (pp. 52-60):

1. Look at the class roster without preconceptions. It’s easy to review the class list and start thinking of prior experiences with siblings and families. It’s easy to hear the staff lunch room stories in your head. Do everything you can to silence those soundtracks, so that each student comes to your classroom with an opportunity to build from a clean slate. 
2. Use a family communication checklist. Create a checklist of ways that you can connect with families – phone, email, postcards, etc. – and keep track of critical times to check in with families – before school, near conferences, near report cards, around breaks, etc. This type of planning will help you ensure you are opening doors to communication at important times throughout the school year. 
3. Develop and implement a positive intervention plan. Create a plan for positive interaction with students and families. Use it in concert with your communication checklist. 
4. Be consistent in communicating. Create a communication routine so that parents get into a rhythm of weekly/monthly communication coming from you. 
5. Spread good news. Go out of your way to share good news with individual parents and the classroom parents. Good news fosters good will. 
6. Have hard conversations with a soft heart. Always keep your relationship with the student and their family in mind whenever you have to engage in a difficult dialog. You can do this by preparing ahead of time, setting a caring tone, encouraging collaboration, and maintaining composure. 

As you prepare for the week ahead, think of ways that you can use these suggestions to further foster great teacher-to-family relationships. You and your students and their families will be glad you made the effort!