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Most parent contacts are pleasant. Welcome and encourage them. Your openness to parents sets the tone for the entire building. Respectful exchanges are marked by genuinely listening to what each person has to say and by taking these views into account in subsequent actions (Bryk & Schneider, 2003). Students will benefit from having a principal and teachers who communicate well with their parents.
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Written Invitation |
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Invite parent input at every opportunity. In the school handbook, on the school web site, in your newsletter home to parents, in every publication parents receive invite their thoughts. Ask them to share their joys and concerns. Continually publish the phone number and email address at which they can reach you. Welcome person to person contacts by encouraging parents to call for an appointment so they can be sure you are available when they come to meet with you. When they request the appointment, ask if there is anything you should be thinking about or preparing for your visit with them.
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Oral Invitation |
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The message is the same in your oral presentations as well. "We want to hear your joys and concerns. Let us know how school is going for your child. Here is the phone number and email address at which I can be reach. Call for an appointment if you want to visit in person so that I can be sure to be available to you."
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Listening for Concerns |
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You will probably hear a lot more "concerns" than "joys," but keep asking for those "joys." Once in a great while, you'll receive a note or phone call from a parent recalling a "joy" in a child's school life and you need all the positive input you can get! More importantly, hearing the message "Please let us know your joys and concerns." gives all those satisfied parents pause to reflect on the good things that are happening for their children at school even though they don't take time to tell you.
As for the "concerns," absolutely you want to hear them. If you don't know about the concerns, you can't help resolve them or clarify the misunderstandings causing them. Parents are going to talk about their concerns somewhere and you would much rather they tell you than the people at their place of work, their neighbors, or the folks at the local coffee shop. Consequently, the second part of your message must be, "If I don't know, I can't help." "Please contact us with your joys and concerns. If we don't know,..."
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Becoming Visible |
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By being highly visible at every elementary event, you help parents learn to recognize you and get to know you. (Yes, I know you have enough paper work to fill most evenings of the year and you're tempted to stay in your office the evenings of parent teacher conferences and get a little of it done.) You will learn so much from greeting parents and interacting with them during these special events. They will begin to know you and become far more comfortable in sharing with you the information you need to make school an even better place for kids. Participate at every elementary event in every way you can. It's fun and goodness only knows you could use a little fun! |
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| Working with Parents...an Elementary Principal's Perspective |
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