20 Tips for Developing Positive Relationships With Parents
There are a few things that every teacher can do to build positive relationships with their parents. Here are 20 tips to get started:
- Establish and maintain open, positive communication with students’ parents.
- Be respectful and understanding of parents’ time and concerns.
- Be available and willing to answer any questions parents have.
- Respect parents’ right to set guidelines for their children’s education.
- Stay informed about changes in the school district and what they may mean for your students.
- Help parents understand the academic and disciplinary standards that are expected of their children.
- Educate parents about the importance of their role in their child’s education.
- Offer to accompany parents on visits to their child’s classroom or school.
- Help parents develop a positive relationship with their child’s teacher.
- Cooperate fully with any school or district programs that are designed to improve parent-student relationships.
- Assist parents in developing a positive relationship with the community where their son or daughter is enrolled.
- Encourage parents to attend school board or other community meetings that may be of interest to them.
- Make every effort to keep parents updated on the progress of their child’s education.
- Try to schedule regular contact times with parents so that they can discuss their child’s progress and ask any questions that they may have.
- Keep parents informed of any special events or programs that may be of interest to them.
- Make it a policy to visit parents at home once a month to discuss their children’s progress and to answer any questions that they may have.
- Make it a policy to send out periodic newsletters or other electronic communications to parents that address the school district’s goals and objectives as well as recent events and happenings at their children’s school.
- Make it a policy to hold parent-teacher conferences at least once a year.
- Help parents to develop a system for filing their child’s school reports.
- Offer to assist parents in any way that they may need assistance in developing a positive relationship with their child’s school.