How to Strengthen Your Parent Partnership with Your Child's Teacher
As a parent, you want the very best for your child’s education. Your child’s school is working towards that same goal, but sometimes it can feel like you’re on a different page — or even reading a completely different book.
Your child’s school success can get a huge boost when you work together with their educators to create a positive learning environment. Partnering with your child’s teachers can give them the support they need to work through learning challenges and thrive in their educational pursuits!
What are parent partnerships?
Creating a parent partnership with your child’s educational team requires active involvement in their education. This means keeping up with the events of your child’s school day while also supporting their learning at home.
A true parent partnership requires more than one volunteer day a semester or attending parent-teacher conferences. A partnership is established when open and honest communication regularly occurs with your child and their educators.
Here are a few ways to maintain open communication and engage your child and their teachers:
- Send weekly email check-ins
- Volunteer in your child’s classroom
- Attend school conferences and workshops
- Ask for extra meetings to address concerns
- Give your child daily encouragement in their studies
- Show an interest in your child’s school day when they get home
- Share conversations with your child to ensure their needs are being met
- Brainstorm ideas with your child and their teachers to overcome learning challenges
At first, it may seem like a lot. But just one extra hour a week communicating with your child and their teacher can make a huge difference in their education.
Even if your schedule makes one-on-one meetings difficult, keep in touch with emails or phone conversations to build strong partnerships with your child’s teachers.
How successful parent-teacher partnerships improve student performance
Parental involvement in education is such an important predictor of student success. Many studies support the idea that the more involved you are in your child’s schooling, the more success they’ll have. And forming a good relationship with your child’s teacher is a great way to get there!
A good parent-teacher partnership can help your child:
- Achieve higher grades
- Improve their attendance
- Feel more confident in their studies
Your support can also increase your child’s chances of graduating from high school and may even help them choose to continue their education in college or university.
Your involvement makes a huge difference in your child’s educational journey. The support you give your child during these crucial years can strengthen your bond for years to come.
Parent partners — the link between home and school
You are the most important link your child shares between home and school.
Children spend most of their time in one of these two places. It’s important they feel supported and nurtured in both environments.
To help them successfully transition from school to home and back, it’s necessary to know what’s happening during their school day so you can help them keep track of their assignments, plan for the week ahead and assist them with their learning struggles.
Unfortunately, many kids just aren’t that chatty about their time at school. This is where a strong parent-teacher relationship can make a huge difference.
Teacher responsibilities in parent partnerships
Establishing a great parent-teacher relationship is all about open, honest and respectful communication.
Here are a few ways your child’s teacher can support your partnership:
- Listen and calmly respond to your classroom concerns
- Brainstorm with you and your child to resolve disagreements
- Create time for in-person or virtual meetings to get to know your family
- Provide regular check-ins that include upcoming assignments and tests
- Bring classroom issues to your attention before they become bigger problems
Parent responsibilities in teacher partnerships
If your child’s teacher is reaching out, that’s great! Working together, you can build a partnership that will benefit your child for the entire school year.
Here are some ways you can help establish a strong parent-teacher partnership:
- Reply to teacher communications in a timely way
- Listen and calmly respond to classroom concerns
- Attend school meetings and workshops whenever possible
- Actively participate in your child’s at-home learning when needed
- Brainstorm with your child and their teacher to resolve disagreements
- Share past school experiences (both positive and negative) with your child’s current teachers
- Update your child’s teacher on any struggles happening at home that may affect their school performance
You may notice several items on each of these lists are the same. That’s because a strong partnership requires respectful communication from both sides. Keep this central to your teacher relationships to better support your child.
How to build a solid parent partnership with teachers
Use these eight effective strategies to strengthen your relationship with your child’s teachers and prepare them for more success.
1. Communicate openly and honestly
The best way to establish a strong partnership with your child’s teacher is to keep the lines of communication open. When they express concerns, take the time to listen to them with an open mind and respond respectfully.
Don’t be afraid to share your own concerns. Respectful communication is needed all around.
2. Avoid communication blocks
Educational professionals have plenty of jargon of their own. If something you don’t understand comes up, ask for more information or an explanation. You need to comprehend their point of view, and they should strive to speak with you in a way that connects.
3. Get involved in school activities
When your child’s school hosts a workshop or needs volunteers, get involved. Work schedules can be tricky of course, and you may not be able to make it to everything. If that’s the case, reach out to those asking for help to see if there’s another way you can support.
4. Encourage community partnerships
If you’re able to attend school activities, that’s a great way to build your sense of school community. But you can create that feeling in other ways as well.
Reach out to other parents in your child’s grade and plan weekend playdates; bring an approved snack for the class (with the teacher’s permission); or volunteer on a day off to listen to children read. The more you’re around, the stronger bonds you’ll build.
5. Maintain a positive attitude
When things aren’t going well for your child, it’s easy to get defensive. You are your child’s biggest and best advocate. But before you storm in, take some time to reach out and discuss their issues. Listen carefully, take notes and involve your child when possible. Then revisit the situation with new solutions and a calmer mind.
6. Engage in teacher calls, visits and communication
Every year, there are parent-teacher conferences. Every week you get an email with a teacher update. But how much time do you spend preparing for those meetings? And how often do you respond to the emails?
If your child’s teacher is reaching out, make sure you’re engaging. Take an extra 10 minutes to read and respond to those emails. The teacher will appreciate your effort, and you’ll be better informed about your child’s school day.
7. Treat teachers with respect
Teachers work with many children throughout their day. It’s a taxing job that often comes with little appreciation. Whenever you need to discuss a matter with your child’s teacher, approach them with respect and understanding. Your conversation will be much more productive if you take the time to listen to and understand their position, even if you disagree.
8. Support your child
You have a right and a need to stay on top of your child’s school day — but this is ultimately their educational journey, and they deserve a say in it.
When difficulties arise, always involve your child in the conversation. Ask them how things are going, where they need help and what ideas they have to improve the situation. This may not always be the most productive conversation, but it’s important they feel they like a decision-maker in their education.
Stay involved with your kid’s learning
Kids learn best when parents get involved. When you have a chance, reach out to your child’s teacher, introduce yourself and start building a strong partnership.
Looking for more resources to support your child’s learning at home? Check out Prodigy to help you keep your child engaged and learning. Stop fighting over extra math practice and watch them happily pick up their tablet to work on the day’s math skills. Then use your parent account to view their progress and share insights with your child’s teacher!
