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LISTEN UP! Differentiated Communication Strategies for
21st Century Parents
Ice Breaker
O Introduce yourself
O Who you are
O Where your from
O What you do
O Who would play you in a movie?
Arlington ISD
O 64,000 Students
O 72 campuses
O 70% of Students Free/Reduced Lunch
O 44% Hispanic
O 24% African American
O 22% Caucasian
O 6% Asian
O 3% 2 or more
O 9th Largest District in Texas
O 8000 Employees
FAMILY ENGAGEMENT FEUD FAMILY ENGAGEMENT FEUD FAMILY ENGAGEMENT FEUD FAMILY
ENGAGEMENT FEUD FAMILY FEUD FAMILY FEUD FAMILY ENGAGEMENT FEUD
Time
Language
Culture
Previous Experience
Knowledge
Money
(Mis)Trust
Belonging
Cheer SilenceLoseWin Boo
Round 4
Barriers to Effective Communication
Based on teacher self-report
O Time
O Culture
O Language
O Lack of Parental Interest
Differentiated Communication
O Marketing Strategy
O Addresses communication barriers through
the use of specific strategies
Why Differentiated Communication?
O Why do we differentiate instruction?
O Tailoring instruction to meet individual
student needs.
O Differentiated Communication
O Tailoring communication to meet individual
parent needs
Who are Our Parents?
Subgroups of Parents
Career-Oriented Parents
Involved/Engaged Parents
Non-Working and Uninvolved/Disengaged Parents
Surrogate Parents
Immigrant Parents
Working Parents
Single Parents
Students acting as Parents
Payne, R.K. (2005) A framework for understanding poverty (4th ed.). Highlands, TX: aha! Process, Inc.
Parent Engagement in the21st Century
Face to Face
Parent Roundtables
PTO/PTA Meetings
School Events
Voice to Voice
Phone Calls
Video Chat
Conferences
Web to Web
Social Media
Web Applications
Currie, B. All Hands on Deck: Tools for Connecting Educators, Parents, and the
Community (2014)
O Effective
Communication with
Parents requires a
combination of
traditional and
non-traditional
communication
Planning for Effective Communication
O Why are you communicating with parents?
O What are your goals? What are you trying to
accomplish?
O What specific areas of concern are you trying to
address?
O What strategies will you use?
O Avoid the Kitchen Sink Approach
Sharing Student Accomplishments with Parents
O Technology can be a powerful tool to engage
parents in student learning.
O iMovie
O Allow students to take pictures of student
work with cell phone to share
O Instagram or Flickr accounts
O Facebook and Twitter
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBvR54sf11c
Everything Old is New Again…
O School newsletters
O GoogleDoc to gather school-wide information to be shared with parents
O Parent Information Night
O Offer parents a variety of sessions to choose from throughout the event rather than 1 large gathering
O Daily Announcements
O record and post on school website or youtube
Phone Calls
Start Small
O Set the goal of contacting 1 parent/family per
day to say something positive about their
child
Parent-Teacher Conferences
O Don’t let the conference be the first contact you have with a
parent
O Inform parent of the goals and discussion topics for the
conference in advance
O Create an agenda
O If your goal is for the parent to provide support at home, be
prepared to show how
O Remember that a Conference should be a 2-way
Conversation
O “Sandwich”
Alternatives to Face-to-Face Conferences
O Skype
O Facetime
O Google Hangouts
Outreach to Specific Audiences
O Dads Outreach
O Junior High
O ELL Families
ELL Parents
ELL Parents may be cautious about joining the
educational process
O Unfamiliarity with the school system;
O Concern over not knowing English;
O Concern about immigration status; and
O Isolation from families that speak their
same language.
ELL ParentsO Limit use of education-specific lingo
O Don’t wait for parents to make the first contact
O Strive for multiple opportunities to have face-to-face conversations
O Provide opportunities for parents to learn more about the US Education system
O Recruit ELL parents as volunteers
O Home-visits with an Interpreter
O Collaborate with Bilingual staff
O Make the time to learn about parents’ culture and attitudes regarding education
O Translate documents before sending home
O Reach out to community organizations for additional support
O Speaking Louder and Slower is not an effective communication strategy
Disengaged or Hard-to-Reach Parents
O Some parents may appear to be
uninterested in their child’s education, but it
may be that they have never been invited to
be a part of the educational process
O Dr. Karen Mapp – The Joining Process
O Welcoming, Honoring, Connecting
Mapp, K. 2003. "Having their say: Parents describe why and how they are engaged in their child's education." School Community Journal, vol.3, No.1
Maintaining Communication Throughout the School YearO Beginning of Year Letter
O Create a student data sheet with a parent contact log on the reverse side to document communication
O Parent Surveys re: children's learning sent home throughout the year (short – 2-4 questions)
O Class Blog or Wiki page
O School Calendar
Video Communication
O Touchcast
O Audioboo
O YouTube
O Vimeo
O iTunes
O Animoto
O ClassDojo
O Cel.ly
O Remind101
O RevDel
O BuzzMob
O Running Start
O TeacherKit
O Google Apps
O SchoolCircle
O Edmodo
O Schoology
O WDWDT – What did
We do Today
Table Discussion
How often are you required to communicate
with parents?
Do you have guidelines regarding the types of
information you should be communicating with
parents?
Setting Goals
O What will I do differently to more effectively
communicate with parents…..
O Next week?
O Next semester?
O Next year?
Resources
Currie, B. All Hands on Deck: Tools for Connecting Educators, Parents, and the
Community (2014)
Keith, Deanna L. Dr. and Spaulding, Lucinda S,, "Applying Maslow's Hierarchy to the
Parent/Teacher Relationship" (2011). Faculty Publications and Presentations. Paper 214.
http://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/educ_fac_pubs/214
Mapp, K. 2003. "Having their say: Parents describe why and how they are engaged in their child's education." School Community Journal, vol.3, No.1
Payne, R.K. (2005) A framework for understanding poverty (4th ed.). Highlands, TX: aha! Process, Inc.
