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www.laspdg.org The Essentials of Effective Communication with Families La Tefy G. Schoen, Ph. D. 1 WELCOME On behalf of the Louisiana State Personnel Development Grant, I would like to welcome you to today’s webinar “The Essentials of Effective Communication with Parents” This webinar is part of the SPDG series on Effective Family and Community Engagement. My name is Dr. La Tefy Schoen and I am an educational consultant with Learning Innovations in Baton Rouge. The presentation is being recorded and will be available for future viewing at www.laspdg.org under FAMILY ENGAGEMENT-WEBINARS. 2 Questions? If you have a question pertaining to this webinar or the LaSPDG Project Please EMAIL US ! • Content-related questions: [email protected] • LaSPDG grant-related questions - Melanie Lemoine [email protected] 3 We use People First Language! “People First Language puts the person before the disability and describes what a person has, not who a person is.” Kathie Snow. (n.d.) A few words about People First Language. Disability is Natural. Retrieved 4 August 1, 2012 from http://www.disabilityisnatural.com/images/PDF/pfl-sh09.pdf Purpose of this Presentation 1. Increase awareness of the importance of on-going two-way communications with families 2. Increase awareness of barriers to effective communication 3. Increase knowledge of practical strategies to design school-to-home and home-to-school communications that are two-way and accommodating to diverse families represented within a school 5 Students who perceive their teachers and families are working together to help them have Better attitudes More confidence in their own ability to improve Higher standardized test scores COMMUNICATION IS CENTRAL TO BUILDING A PARTNERSHIP WITH FAMILIES 6 We all communicate. Daily. But how effective are we in our communication? HOW we communicate makes a difference. EFFECTIVE communication achieves desired results. 7 Poll: Do you have a formalized Communication Plan at your school? • Yes • No • Not Sure 8 Effective School/Home and Home/School Communication Facilitates a partnership with families of our students Builds a unified team approach for reinforcing learning The Result-Better support for student learning- STUDENTS ACHIEVE MORE! 9 Why is a Plan Important? Helps us be intentional about our actions. Allows us to strategically address issues and concerns. Fewer unintentional oversights Facilitates improvement because we exert our limited resources where they are most needed Time Energy Personnel Money 10 Being Effective Requires… Understanding the goals Families work with the school to help the student achieve Planning strategies to get there Develop/revise communication plan to build a strong partnership with families 11 Barriers to Effective Communications with Parents/families Limited Staff Resources TIME – many more students than teachers; multiple responsibilities & few breaks ENERGY – Long days, with multiple interactions and countless tasks leave staff tired at the end of the day MONEY – for aides, expensive auto-calling systems or public advertisements 12 How can we overcome these barriers? • To some extent these difficulties just come with the territory However… A well designed “game plan” can help us to focus our limited resources to achieve maximum results 13 Barriers to Effective Home-School Communications • School staff not always accessible when families are available • Families not sure school staff WANT to hear their opinions/ideas • Families disenfranchised from or intimidated by their own experiences with school • No obvious way for families to share info with school • Families unsure that they have anything of value to contribute • Lack of past communication, misinformation or negative incidents created a hostile relationship with certain parents/families 14 How can we overcome these barriers? DEVELOP A PLAN THAT ADRESSES BARRIES STRATEGICALLY Build-in multiple receptive communication methods Build trust by emphasizing the importance of PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS with families Make ourselves as accessible to families as possible Repeatedly articulate how much the school values partnerships with families as a primary strategy for helping students achieve more 15 POLL: What types of receptive communication methods are you currently using? (select all that apply) Parent conferences Parent meetings at school Newsletters – regular basis Parent Surveys Family participation on school decision making bodies Parent Outreach through regular phone calls Online opinion polls Email Texting Comment boxes Signs (interior or exterior) Ads in community forums (newspaper, radio etc.) 16 A Well Developed Communication Plan can equip your staff to communicate more effectively with families and build powerful partnerships that impact student learning! 17 Effective Home/School Communication is 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Frequent Two Way Consistent Clear Positive Accessible Personal Inclusive 18 1. Frequent Communication Habits and routines emerge out of doing the same things frequently. Families accustomed to communicating with the school frequently are more engaged in helping their child because they have a better sense of what is needed. 19 Communicate Frequently… in Many Ways *Post Student Grades/Progress Weekly *Provide Information – – – About Student behavior About events About Assignments *Develop routines families can count on & plan around 20 Vary Communication Methods & Times with the Age of the Student For younger children consider: • Parent Outreach Program For older children: • Website – teachers call home routinely • • • • • Weekly folders Monthly newsletters Flyers Bulletin boards Newspaper/radio announcements • Face-to-face conferences • Meetings at school – post important assignments, requirements & school information • • • • • • Mail outs “robo-calls” Emails & text messages Exterior school signs Personal phone calls Announcements at sporting/social events 21 Rule of Four If it is information worth sharing …. its worth sharing at least FOUR DIFFERENT WAYS! That way everybody gets the message! 22 2. Two Way Communication Engaging families to support school efforts is enhanced by strong relationships. Relationships require interaction – one party cannot do all the talking. School staff must not only distribute information BUT…provide ways to listen to parents & support their efforts, as well. 23 Conferences Parent Outreach Program Phone Calls Suggestion Boxes Surveys Town Hall Meetings Family Participation in Planning Interactive Online Formats 24 Survey Families • Identify key topics where family input is needed • Administer annually • Be responsive to feedback from families Consider using LaSPDG’s Family Toolkit (2010) http://www.laspdg.org/co ntent.cfm?id=198 25 3. Consistent Communication Use several core methods to communicate with families throughout the year. You can add additional methods of communication, but do not discontinue a method of communication mid-year without good reason – this disrupts family routines that support learning! Consistent Home Routines & Communication Patterns Support Student Learning! 26 4. Clear Communication Share exact/precise information – Use same terms each place – Be concise – Provide references to consult for greater detail – Label any change from an earlier communication with bold print – Assign a contact person that family members can call 27 Focus Messages on a Single Point Always be clear on what you want to accomplish when you communicate with families Clear 28 Check Outbound Messages Set up a school-wide process to proof-read language for consistent phrasing, exact language across messages , appropriateness & grammar 29 5. Positive Communication Do not fall into the trap of only calling parents when there is a problem Parents are eager to engage with school staff when they expect to -hear positive comments about their children -receive helpful suggestions 30 Develop Family Communication Protocols for Positive Interactions When there are concerns… Be honest, but encouraging Positive comment State reason for concern Make suggestion for addressing issue Agree to work together to help student Identify method to monitor progress Articulate a timeline for next communication on this topic • Express optimism & appreciation • • • • • • 31 Recognize Progress Publicly & Often Institute ways of routinely reporting and rewarding students for work well-done – – – – – Happy grams Praise reports Certificates Rewards for accomplishments Award ceremonies And don’t forget to recognize parents & family members 32 6. Accessible Communication • Archive important information • Provide contact information for person in charge • Be available to talk (beyond school hours if necessary) 33 Accessible Communication is Constant Communication Archive Information On Demand Access to Information is empowering! Builds confidence & motivation of students & family members Encourages families to help Facilitates transfer of academic knowledge & skills to the real-world 34 7. Personal Communication Make Personal Contact Relationships are built through person to person contact • Regardless of how much information, notification, communication is available to families; everyone appreciates having a point of contact. • People are more responsive to people than they are to notes, signs and websites 35 8. InclusiveCommunication Be aware of family members who may need assistance to participate fully and provide it! F A M I L Y 36 Use the Effective Communication Checklist This process is the starting point for developing a Plan for Effective Home/School and School/Home Communication Identify ways you can improve communication with families at your School The checklist helps you evaluate communication methods for a particular event, or purpose 37 Handouts Effective Communication Checklist ensure individual messages are well delivered. Developing A Communication Plan to ensure your Communication Plan is comprehensive Develop a Communication Plan for your school A Communication Plan Outlines Typical Methods & Processes used to communicate with families throughout the year, regardless of the purpose of individual communiques 38 Components of a Communication Plan 1. 2. The plan provides a way to ensure that communication at your school is … 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Frequent Two Way Consistent Clear Positive Accessible Personal Inclusive 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. List routine outbound communications & determine frequencies for routine communiques’ of information – Outbound Rule of 4: use 4 methods to get word out Establish set ways to receive information from families – Inbound Rule of 4 Use the same methods of communication routinely Establish a process to identify the purpose of each communication & target participants/recipients – Set up a school-wide process to proof-read language for consistent phrasing, exact language across messages , appropriateness & grammar Design a Positive Communication Protocol staff can use to assist with personalized communications Archive as much information as possible and ensure people know how to access it 24/7 Build-in methods to maintain a personal relationship with members of each family Identify which families require additional assistance (ex: translations) – Establish methods to provide services so that they can interact with the school meaningfully 39 Well-developed programs result from planning that has … A clear focus on shared goals Teacher collaboration Strong input from parents & students Been based on data that reflects needs Guidance & support from administrators PERIODIC REVISION of plans & strategies 40 for Success Good communication builds strong partnerships with families Positive Student Outcomes Include Higher GPAs Higher standardized test scores More high school credits earned More difficult courses taken Better attendance Fewer discipline problems at home & school See – Lets’s FACE it ! Series On engaging families and getting SET for Success ! www.laspdg.org 41 REVIEW- Purpose of this Presentation 1. Increase awareness of the importance of on-going two-way communications with families 2. Increase awareness of barriers to effective communication 3. Increase knowledge of practical strategies to design school-to-home and home-to-school communications that are two-way and accommodating to diverse families represented within a school 42 www.laspdg.org The contents of this PowerPoint presentation were developed under a grant from the US Department of Education, #H323A110003. However those contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the US Department of Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government. 43 Questions? • Please use your chat pod if you have questions related to this presentation (if time permits, we will answer them, if not please email questions to contacts below) • After this webinar, you may email any contentrelated questions to La Tefy Schoen [email protected] • You may email any grant-related questions to Melanie Lemoine [email protected] We Want Your Feedback! • We are going to open a brief survey on your screen for you to offer feedback now • When you are finished, you may exit out of the webinar • If you have pop up blockers enabled, then the survey will not appear; you can go directly to http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/ls3_13_13fe • Thank you!