Parents an Elem. Principal's Perspective

WORKING WITH PARENTS
AN ELEMENTARY PRINCIPAL'S PERSPECTIVE

Ways to Inform Parents

The school district for which you work probably already has a multitude of ways in place to keep parents informed. At the elementary level they might include: an elementary (or building) handbook, school calendar, district and/or elementary newsletters, weekly newsletters from classroom teachers, school web site, newspaper articles, and notes from the principal reminding and informing parents of up coming events.

Elementary Handbook

Let's start with the elementary handbook. Distributing a handbook to every family is the school's way of assuring that every parent and student has been informed of the rules, regulation, and policies that students and parents need to know. As principal read yours from cover to cover! (We've all been embarrassed by students and parents who know published school procedures and expectations better than we do.) As you read the handbook, take note of where it needs to be revised. Start thinking about how you can work with a representative group of school personnel and parents to begin that process. Handbooks and their contents are "board approved" so plan ahead. You want the handbook to be clear, concise, and well organized so parents and students can access the information they need. They should be able to easily find the answers to questions they might have. It goes without saying the handbook needs to be error free. Consider writing a cover letter for the handbook that welcomes children and their families to your school and invites their comments, questions, and concerns. As always, include the ways they can reach you.

School Year Calendar

By providing a calendar of the school year to parents, we allow them to plan ahead for early dismissals, professional development days, school vacation days, parent teacher conferences, and any other events that require a change in child care arrangements and other family routines. This simple courtesy goes along way toward keeping parents informed and developing a working relationship with them.

School Newsletter

Be sure to inform personnel in charge of the school newsletter publication of your plans to include articles from each of the elementary programs and ask them to inform teachers and you of publication deadlines.

Some elementary schools include their newsletter in the district wide newsletter others publish their own newsletter. Either way, it is a great tool for keeping parents and the community informed of all the wonderful things that are happening at school for kids. Toot the elementary school's horn, blast the elementary school's horn, let people know about all the interesting and educational experiences available to children. The principal should have a strong voice for exalting the elementary school by writing an article for every newsletter, but the teachers will write the best articles. At the beginning of the school year, have each teacher choose the issue of the newsletter for which he/she will be writing an article. Coordinate this with teachers so each issue features and highlights one or more elementary programs. Parents and other community members love reading what is happening in their children's classrooms and teachers need an avenue for sharing the great experiences they are providing for kids!

School Web Sites

Web sites and newspaper articles are great ways to keep parents informed and like school newsletters also serve as public relations tools. However, unlike the school handbook and newsletters, they do not reach all parents. Consequently, we must continue to make our school produced paper communications as meaningful as possible. That doesn’t mean you can’t use the school web site and newspaper to keep parents and other community members informed, just know you are not reaching everyone.

Notes Sent Home

Consistently print notes from the principal on the same color of paper. Reserve that color for notes to parents from the principal. Parents will connect that color with important information they need to know about their children's school.

Notes sent home with students are the backbone of communication with parents of elementary children. (There is a theory among educators, that experience tells us is correct, "The younger the student the more apt the note is to get home and be read.") The principal and the elementary secretary have the responsibility of reminding and informing parents of elementary school wide events. This information is often extremely important to parents, because it can affect their children's safety. Reminders are sent home concerning early dismissals and other changes in school schedules that directly impact children and their families. Parents need this information to plan for childcare arrangements and make other needed changes in their family routines. Information concerning open houses and other elementary school wide activities is also often sent home from the principal's office. The challenge is to give parents all the information they need in a timely, clear, concise, manner that invites questions on a note that does not get overlooked. You and the elementary secretary will become experts at creating documents that bold the essential, include the details, encourage parents to contact you if they have questions and getting the information into parents' hands on time!

Working with Parents...an Elementary Principal's Perspective