Building Strong Parent-Educator Partnerships

 In this section, Colorin Colorado offers numerous resources for teachers and educators in order to strengthen the school-home partnership. From back-to-school night to parent-teacher conferences, we've got lots of ideas to get you started!

For Educators

If you would like some ideas on ways to reach out to the parents of your English language learners, take a look at these resources:

 

• Reaching Out to Hispanic Students and Families (also available in Spanish)
• How to Get Parents Involved: Bilingual Family Night
• Parent Outreach Articles (also available in Spanish)
• Reaching Out to Hispanic Parents of English Language Learners (Colorín Colorado-AFT Toolkit for Teachers)
• Recommended parent guides
• Tips for Successful Parent-Teacher Conferences with Bilingual Families

For Parents

For parents who aren't sure how to develop a relationship with their child's teacher, these articles offer some great suggestions:

 

• Parent Tips: Help Your Child Have a Good School Year (written in three different reading levels, and available in Spanish)
• Talk with Your Child's Teacher (also available in Spanish)
• Parent Guide: Who's Who at Your Child's School (also available in Spanish)
• Tips for Parents: Parent-Teacher Conferences (also in Spanish)
• The Parent-Teacher Conference (Pre-K) (also available in Spanish)
• The Parent-Teacher Conference (K-3) English (also available in Spanish)
• Tips for Successful Parent-Teacher Conferences at Your Child's School (also available in Spanish)
• How to Get Involved in Your Child's School Activities (also available in Spanish)
• From GreatSchools.net: Back-to-School Night Basics

COVID-19 Information for ELL and Multilingual Families

 It is essential to continue sharing information about COVID-19 with English language learner (ELL) and immigrant families, especially as it changes. Key topics include:

Basic information about the virus, how it spreads, and who it most affects, such as the elderly and people with certain underlying health risks

What to do if you are sick

Preventative measures such as hand-washing, not touching your face, and staying home if you are sick

Information about social distancing

Here are some strategies to support that effort:

Ensure that students are receiving reminders on preventative measures regularly.

Encourage teachers to use visuals, videos, and demonstrations with ELLs on steps like hand washing and that they check students' understanding of that information.

Ensure that families receive this key information as well. Keep in mind that families will have different preferences on how they wish to communicate:

Phone calls, texts, and social media: Many families may prefer to communicate via phone, text, or social media instead of email. They may also be sharing regular updates with their own networks through these channels.

Translated information: Many COVID-19 resources have already been translated into other languages. Check with your local public health office to see if they have information serving the immigrant families in your community. We have also compiled multilingual resources below. Note: Families with lower levels of literacy may not be able to read written hand-outs. Making information available in a variety of forms will increase families' access.

Community networks and media outlets: Some immigrant communities may have robust communication networks within parent groups, with local organizations, or through media outlets in their language. Collaborating with these networks can provide a valuable two-way benefit both in sharing information and learning more about families' questions, concerns, and ideas.

Teaching your ELLs

 Colorin Colorado is one of my favorite pages to find articles and resources to teach and support ELLs and their families.

Check out this great article on ELLs 

Engagement and Management

 Over the course of my 15 years of teaching in the classroom, there has been a continual debate over management vs. engagement. The argument is that if you create an engaging lesson, then management issues will fade away like a bad stain in the washing machine. The opposite has also been stated, if you have good management then “engagement” (which has been confused with compliance, in this instance), also increases. We need to look beyond the either/or to the both/and.

A classroom should have good student management in place, but it should also include lessons/activities that are engaging. It is very difficult to have one without the other. You can spend hours creating an amazing lesson, but if your students don’t pay attention, then they will not be successful or find value in your plan. If you create your lessons with only you in mind, then the likelihood of students finding it engaging also decreases. In this scenario, you won’t necessarily have open rebellion, after all, your class is well managed, but you also won’t see student ownership of learning, that sparkle that lights up their eyes when they are excited about what they get to work on. And really, isn’t that what it’s all about?

The Management Side:

It has been my stance for years that each teacher must decide for themselves what type of management system they want to have in their classroom. This does not mean, however, that you should have NO management system in place. That will lead to big problems down the road. Students crave structure. They need to know what they can and can’t do in your class – what’s O.K. and what’s not O.K., and they need to know where the lines are. That is only fair. We all have lines laid down for us in our lives, places that it is acceptable to go or talk about, and others where it isn’t. Students, however, need to have it explicitly stated. Depending upon the grade level you teach, they are developing their reasoning function, their ability to tie action and reaction together. We need to help them function in our classrooms in a manner that is appropriate. Don’t hide your expectations – let them know ahead of time. No surprises. I’ve talked to many students over the years who have gotten in trouble in a class. For many, the answer to the question, “what did you do to get in trouble?” is met with, “I don’t know. I did what I always do and the teacher just blew up at me.” With no guidelines laid down ahead of time, a teacher will reach their boiling point and explode. The student is left standing there with mud on their face, not sure what just happened. A management system that is thought out ahead of time and communicated to students and parents, will mitigate much of this issue.

One final thought on management – there are many different ideas on what classroom management could and should look like (some educators create management plans in partnership with their students), but always make sure it is something that works for you and that you can live with. Taking someone else’s management ideas or style and just copying them can also cause problems. Make sure it is something that you are committed to.