The most important aspect of building a connection between school and home is establishing a positive relationship with your students families.

Relationships can be built many different ways and may be different from family to family.
"Research shows that students and families benefit when these partnerships include supports that help families learn how to implement teaching strategies at home." - Learning Policy Institute.

While communication and parent engagement have many qualities and activities in common, they are their own entity. When parents and teachers work together it shows the student that they are both committed to the child's success. 

Communication

Communication is an essential element to building and maintaining relationships with parents. Teachers must remember that many of our students with disabilities have difficulty sharing about their day when they go home. It is important that we communicate a student's day to their families so they feel involved in their learning and this is especially crucial when it is time for the student's IEP review.  Keeping an open line of communication allows parents to know what is going on at school and teachers know what is going on at home for that student. Teachers and parents are partners in ensuring a student's success. 

Parent Engagement

While teachers are the experts in the education field, parents are the expert on their child and teachers should foster parent engagement throughout the school year. While it can be difficult to encourage parent engagement in a student's learning due to cultural or language differences, lac of time, past negative experience, teachers should still be offering opportunities. Teachers should be supporting parents with understanding the IEP process and IDEA law as it can be extremely confusing and intimidating. Involvement does not have to just be parents helping their students with homework or attending a parent teacher conference 1-2 times a year. The goal is quality of involvement, not quantity. 

Tips for Communication

  • Send home a parent questionnaire at the beginning of the school year with various questions regarding the student, don't forget to ask what their preferred mode of communication is (email, call, school messaging app)
  • Daily reports for students who have difficulty sharing on their own
  • Classroom Webpage updated with current classroom information and learning targets (could be done on various free website creators including Google Sites)
  • Monthly Newsletters (Canva Pro is free to teachers when you use your school account, link below)
  • Do not just contact home when student's are having a hard time, don't forget to share a students wins (being a kind friend, nailing a learning target they may have struggled with, following classroom/school rules).
  • This should go without saying, but do not lie to parents about how their student it doing. Be honest and thoughtful about how and what you are sharing with parents. 
  • Ask for parent input before an IEP meeting to see if there are certain goals they have in mind for their child. 
  • Share work samples, art, and projects with parents throughout the school year.​

Tips for Parent Involvement

  • Send home homework and reading expectations for when students are at home. 
  • Set up short meetings with parents when they want to discuss student progress.
  • Set up or host parent workshops regarding various aspects of special education and school in general. 
  • Provide parents with information regarding IDEA that is most pertinent to them. 
  • ​Offer volunteer opportunities that the parent can come into the classroom (following your districts volunteer policies).
  • Keep parents informed regarding school events.
  • Provide parents with book lists at the student's reading level, not necessarily grade level. 
  • Teach parents how to encourage independence at home and how to fade prompts. 
  • Help parents find local groups or additional information to connect to the community or find information to support them and their child. 

Additional Resources for Building a Strong School & Home Partnership

Communication Log Examples

Communication logs don't need to be a long note home, or even necessarily handwritten, they can be broken up into sections based on time of day, activity, or even a simple great day/okay day/try again tomorrow. They can be tailored to meet the needs of that student. Don't forget to personally message or call parents when there are incidents of concern or to share an exciting moment. 
You could purchase pre-made communication logs on Teachers Pay Teachers or you could create your own logs in a word or excel document.
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Free on Teachers Pay Teachers https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/FREEBIE-daily-communication-for-parents-3272957
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Free on Teachers Pay Teachers. https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Parent-Communication-Printable-Log-FREE-EDITABLE-1315558
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Photo from Autism Classroom News

Cited Resources on this page

https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/blog/covid-home-school-partnerships-key-supporting-students-disabilities
https://www.edutopia.org/article/teacher-parent-communication-can-help-support-students/
https://www.learninga-z.com/site/resources/breakroom-blog/home-school-connection
https://blog.riversideinsights.com/engage-parents-students-special-education-remote-learning
https://www.rethinked.com/resources/parent-engagement-ideas/
https://digitalpromise.org/2020/10/28/supporting-students-with-special-learning-needs-at-home/
​https://www.edutopia.org/article/supporting-parents-students-special-needs/
Disclaimer :: Please note that this webpage was created as a project for obtaining a Masters of Education degree in California. This webpage is meant to serve as a resource to broaden educator knowledge and does not serve as legal advice. All resources used to create this webpage are noted at the bottom of each section. ​While some information is based on Federal IDEA law, it would be best practice to still check with your district regarding state laws and district procedures. 
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