Communication, Connecting
How Can You Begin to Connect?
We are more connected digitally than ever as a society, but we find ourselves lonely and isolated in our daily life. For modern school to work, we have to connect family, students, and educators. This connection takes time, but can eventually lead to trust. Many of us have never experienced this with our schools, but let’s explore what connecting can look like.
Sharing Stories
Schools can craft a narrative about a family from limited data, first impressions, and implicit bias. Helping the school learn the beauty of your family can be a way to grow your connection. Watch this video on how you share your story.
Pursuing Trust
One purpose of deepening the connection between families and schools is to grow trust. When difficult and stressful times arise, trust is a key to crafting solutions that all can support. Trust is hard to grow and easy to destroy. Watch this video which talks about how families can support this work.
Ideas to Connect
Though it may be the school’s role to initiate a connection, here are some ideas for how families can lead.
- Join the school’s social media channels
- Visit the school for a non-event
- Ask for a tour of the school building
- Reach out to one or more of the adults that support your child beyond the main teacher
- Attend a sporting or activity event
- Learn about the history of the school and building.
Which Level of Connection Do You Have?
- Level One: You receive all of the school information, and you respond to items that request your response. You have talked with your child’s teacher. How Parent Involvement Leads to Student Success.
- Level Two: Along with level one, you visit the school for events, interact with the social media feeds, and you have met others at the school beyond the main teachers for your child. The Home-School Team: An Emphasis on Parent Involvement
- Level Three: Along with levels one and two, you can speak about the mission of the school to others. You have a sense of where the school is headed. You feel multiple lines of communication are open and helpful. Supporting Students Means Taking Care of Parents, Too. Here’s How Schools Can Help.
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