4 Tips for Creating Positive Parent Teacher Relationships

Building parent-teacher relationships is such an important aspect of being a teacher because together you can form a team, and have parents assist you in their child’s learning. As a new teacher, I had no idea HOW to form these relationships (without taking up too much time).

Here are some of my favorite communication strategies to keep building parent-teacher relationships simple, genuine, and something you look forward to doing! 

Start with a Meet the Teacher Letter

Ease parents and students before the school year begins by introducing yourself prior to the first day of school.

You can even start talking with parents and families BEFORE the school year begins.

A “Meet the Teacher” letter is a great way to help your students, and their families, learn more about who you are and put a face to the name!

In this letter, you can share: 

🌟 Your educational background 

🌟 Things you love about the grade level you teach

🌟 Some fun facts about you

🌟 Favorite things you enjoy

Your future students will LOVE being able to put a face to your name and get excited about this new school year. 🎉

Also, this letter opens the door to easy communication right off the bat. The parents of your classroom will feel more connected to you as they already know a little bit about you. 

If you are looking for a “Meet the Teacher” template to use as a communication strategy, check out my Calm Colors templates here! 

This meet the teacher templates are included in my modern calm colors classroom theme. Click here to check out the full calm colors classroom decor bundle!

Ask for Stories about your New Students

Let me tell you, this wasn’t a strategy that immediately popped into my head when I was thinking about communicating with families. It might even sound a little strange and out there. 🤔

Now, before you scroll down to the next section, hear me out. This idea is incredible. 

At the beginning of the school year (a Back to School night, Meet the Teacher night, etc.), ask parents and families to share a favorite story of their child. You can have them write it down on a form collecting other information. 

The stories you read will bring laughter, joy, and incredible insight into who your students are as tiny little humans. 😍

It is easy to view the kids sitting in your classroom as only students. We often need the help of our student’s families to remind us of who they are outside of the classroom.

Going back to these stories halfway through the school year is a powerful way to remind yourself of what your students enjoy and pursue outside of the classroom. 

This is also an incredible opportunity for parents and guardians to brag about their kid. 

Families get excited to communicate, engage, and build relationships with teachers who care about the small details of their child’s life outside of school.

Make Positive Phone Calls Home 🙂

This one is one of my favorites. I think I got this idea from Ron Clark in his book “The Essential 55”. (Such a great book btw!)

What I did, is I decided to make one positive phone call home each day at the beginning of the school year. I simply looked for something positive that a student did that day, and would make a phone call at the end of the day bragging about that student to their parent. 😊

The results were AMAZING. Some parents were SO overjoyed to hear that their student was doing well, and some mentioned that they had never recieved a phone call like that about their child.

I would keep a running list of each student I made a positive call about, and what day that phone call was made.

I tried to find something postive in each student and make a new call each day. This made it SO much easier later in the year when I would eventually have to make some tough phone calls home.

I already established that relationship, so parents were much more likely to help when I mentioned something their child needed to work on.

In my experience, this communication strategy helps make building parent-teacher relationships SO much easier. 

⭐ You notice even MORE positives in students when you are actively looking. 

⭐ Families LOVE these phone calls! They get SO excited to celebrate their kiddo. 

⭐ Sharing the positive builds trust with the family and the student. 

⭐ Parents are more willing and excited to partner with you when things get tough. 

Keep the Communication Consistent with Newsletters 

Another one of my favorite communication strategies is using newsletters. 

Families LOVE staying up-to-date about the things happening inside your classroom. However, it can take a lot of time to update parents individually. Especially if you are receiving dozens of emails filled with questions about what you are currently teaching or how they can help at home. 

Classroom newsletters accomplish so much in so little time! 

✨ Stay in constant communication with parents WITHOUT taking up lots of time. 

✨ Include topics you are currently studying 

✨ Provide easy ways for families to practice at home 

✨ Remind families about upcoming events

The hardest part of classroom newsletters is creating the document. So, I created a template to make that part easier for you! 

Simply edit the template each week (or month) in 10 minutes or less and print them off or send via email! 

There are so many different newsletter templates on TpT, but if you are interested in these boho ones, click on the image below!

If you are interested in seeing all of the newsletter templates in my shop, click here!

Start sending newsletters home regularly to make communicating with families easy and fun! 😊

I am a firm believer that building strong parent-teacher relationships does not need to be complicated or overwhelming! My biggest piece of advice is to find some communication strategies that work for you and stay consistent!