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Parent Approved School Communication

Looking for parent communication ideas and an opportunity to increase parent involvement in school? Check out these tools to open the communication doors! | Classroom Management | technology in the classroom |

Hey Peeps!

I make it a point to share as much as possible with my parents…but in the easiest way possible (or easiest for me). I’m here to share what the parents at my school enjoy, and if it sparks motivation or even a different idea for you—then BOOM…this read was worth it 😉

Looking for parent communication ideas and an opportunity to increase parent involvement in school? Check out these tools to open the communication doors! | Classroom Management | technology in the classroom |

A few months back I shared how my entire district began a Twitter movement. I love using Twitter in the classroom because it is a fabulous way for parents to see through the peephole of what their child is learning. Parents can save the images that I post to their phones so they can keep the memories forever. If they do not want to create a Twitter account, they can receive a text message notification of my tweets!

Looking for parent communication ideas and an opportunity to increase parent involvement in school? Check out these tools to open the communication doors! | Classroom Management | technology in the classroom |
To read more about how I use Twitter in my classroom
Looking for parent communication ideas and an opportunity to increase parent involvement in school? Check out these tools to open the communication doors! | Classroom Management | technology in the classroom |

I love using {Class Dojo} in the classroom for more reasons that you can count. I can track a child’s behavior and a parent can check from the comfort of home or the workplace with the click of a button. I needn’t mention the automatic behavior report that is sent to parent’s each Friday. Class Dojo, you are just fab 🙂

One of my favorite features is the messaging feature. Some parents like to text. I value my privacy and refuse to give out my personal phone number to parents for reasons I’m sure you’re thinking 😉
Class Dojo messenger works just like text messaging but without the release of my private number. I get notifications on my iPad or iPhone just like a text message. The best part, I don’t need to receive the notifications every day. On weekends I go into the setting app on my iPhone and turn off notifications. Us teachers need to unplug, too 🙂

**See all my Class Dojo Posts in the link below**
Combine Class Dojo with a Classroom Economy
Looking for parent communication ideas and an opportunity to increase parent involvement in school? Check out these tools to open the communication doors! | Classroom Management | technology in the classroom |

This is my first year using a classroom blog in my room. In the past I created a newsletter and e-mailed it out to my parents. I am all about documentation, so I love the features that a class blog can provide. I can no longer have a parent say that I did not provide specific information because I have a time stamp for the information given 😉

Looking for parent communication ideas and an opportunity to increase parent involvement in school? Check out these tools to open the communication doors! | Classroom Management | technology in the classroom |

I type up the newsletter and save as a PNG. Then I paste the picture of the newsletter on the website.
I e-mail the link to my parents. I also tweet out the link.
Have you ever used Bitly? It a free tracking system for your links. I can see how many people have clicked it!

Looking for parent communication ideas and an opportunity to increase parent involvement in school? Check out these tools to open the communication doors! | Classroom Management | technology in the classroom |

On our class blog is our calendar. I synced the google calendar to the website. When I add certain school events to the calendar, it automatically updates it to this calendar (since I just pasted the HTML code). My parents have a secure and consistent place to see everything that is happening in our classroom!

 

Looking for parent communication ideas and an opportunity to increase parent involvement in school? Check out these tools to open the communication doors! | Classroom Management | technology in the classroom |

 

Now the hard part…getting parents to actually READ it, ha!
I run a classroom economy system. I pay my kids $5 if their parents read the newsletter and fill out the ‘secret code’!
Thankfully, all my kids have e-mail. If I had a parent that was totally against or didn’t have the resources for e-mail and internet, I would simply print out the newsletter. They can sign a slip of paper and have the child write their answer for credit.
I also keep a check off list so I can keep track of how many and WHICH parents are reading the newsletter. This saves MY hiney if I ever have a parent complain say that they did not receive the information.
Pin the image below so you can reference these ideas for later:
Looking for parent communication ideas and an opportunity to increase parent involvement in school? Check out these tools to open the communication doors! | Classroom Management | technology in the classroom |
I hope this was a peppy zesty idea for you!
How do you manage parent communication in your classroom?
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Amber

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Amber is veteran teacher that built a successful TPT business before being recruited to lead social media and content marketing strategy for two Ed-Tech brands. She loves using her unique knowledge of the teacher marketing space to help teachers grow and scale their business with the right digital marketing strategies.

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4 Comment

  1. Reply
    Rachel Vincent
    November 20, 2015 at 12:11 am

    I use many of the same communications! I've been toying with the idea of a class blog/website. What site do you use to host your class blog?

    1. Reply
      Amber Calderon
      February 25, 2016 at 3:13 am

      Hey Rachel!
      I love that we're on the same page! I actually just use Blogger to host my website! It's really nice because I can switch over between all my other blogs without having to log out! It makes it easier for me. If you create a website, I would LOVE to see it! It's really nice because I can never have a parent say I did not communicate with them because a blog archives everything 😉

  2. Reply
    Champagnes
    November 20, 2015 at 6:36 am

    I've been using Remind this year. It will send texts to parents who want it, or emails if they prefer that instead. I really like being able to schedule texts/emails. I can send a doc or a link to my newsletter, and parents can respond back, without getting my personal information! 🙂

    1. Reply
      Amber Calderon
      February 25, 2016 at 3:14 am

      That is so awesome that you use Remind! I almost used that. However, since all of my parents are on twitter and receive text notification when I send a tweet, I can schedule out the tweets and they get it JUST like a text message! Both are fabulous options! Thanks so much for sharing! 🙂

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