• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Curriculum Leadership Institute

Curriculum Leadership Institute

Pathways to School Improvement

  • Home
  • CLI Model
    • CLI & State Standards
    • CLI & Accreditation
    • CLI & PLCs
    • CLI & RTI
  • Service Options
    • Curriculum Ninja Mastermind
    • Workshops
  • Our Clients
    • Online Training Materials
  • Tools & Resources
    • Tools
    • Resources
  • Why CLI
    • About CLI
    • Testimonials & Letters of Recommendation
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Employment Opportunities
  • Contact Us
    • Schedule an Appointment
  • Schedule an Appointment

communication

Now is the Time to Strengthen Community and Parental Connections

June 1, 2021 by Stu Ervay

Adult hands in to represent a team
Click here for a printer-friendly version.

For twenty years America’s public schools have focused on complying with external standards. Most of those standards have been written by, or in cooperation with, state and federal governments. Accrediting bodies have also come up with standards.

In the early years of the standards movement the mandates or strong recommendations were not as well designed or worded as they are now. And they changed regularly, often confusing school leaders and teachers.

Reasons behind the standards movement were associated with an attempt to make schools more efficient, less expensive, and more accountable. Accountability was determined through the development and use of high stakes tests. Test results were recorded on massive data bases and used to make decisions about funding. And to compare school districts with each other. 

That movement may have had good intentions.  It possibly improved the quality of some school programs. But it also tended to interfere with the American tradition of building strong connections between and among schools, parents, and community patrons.

Local networking, so much a hallmark of American education, became overwhelmed with externally developed and required strategies to upgrade learning quality. 

Now this nation is besieged by the Coronavirus Pandemic, an event that is changing the nation in many ways. Especially schools and colleges. Ways of doing things in the past seem hopelessly mired down.

The experience tells us much about ourselves and the institutions we revere.

Parents who once accepted the value of standards and high stakes tests are now in homes with children struggling to learn via an internet platform or some other kind of virtual connection. They can see what their children are doing or not doing.

They see the frustrations of both students and teachers as they struggle with everything from poor internet connections, to maneuvering through a lesson. They feel the frustration of students, either their own or others, who have difficulty understanding concepts or developing basic skills.

Far too many of those parents, as grateful as they are to teachers who try so hard, have concluded that this COVID era is when effective education has been put on hold. A warp in time that can only be repaired when everything “gets back to normal.”

But the question is, “What is the future normal going to look like?”

The Curriculum Leadership Institute has long advocated strong communication between and among local school stakeholders. Board members are fully involved or informed about everything being done to upgrade curriculum and instruction. Some of them serve on curriculum councils, along with selected others in the community.

All meetings of the professional staff are open to parents and community members, who sometimes participate in subject area committee meetings. Districts are encouraged to make parents and patrons aware of all actions taken to modify curriculum, instruction, assessment, and other matters relevant to the academic program.

Many client districts sponsor hard copy or online newsletters that explain the improvement processes they are undertaking. Some have a close and positive working relationship with the local media. They sponsor excellent web pages that describe what is being done in substantive terms.

“Substantive” means those districts share curriculum information, and the techniques they are using to ensure students succeed as much as possible even in these difficult times.  They share documents like grade level and/or subject area curricula, that include clearly written “purpose” or mastery statements for EACH subject being taught. Under each purpose statement are listed unit outcomes.

Because both purpose (mastery) statements and unit outcomes are written using measurable verbs and specific content fields, parents can more fully participate as “guide on the side” teaching assistants. They can do that because what is being taught to mastery is not just “stuff to be covered.” A verb such as “describe” tells parents their student must articulate something orally or in writing, and a content field like “how a hypothesis is developed” means listing or even more detailed information as shown in an entire unit outcome.

Teachers and parents, working together, are continually testing students FORMATIVELY. That is a topic for another E-Hint, but the key idea is that ongoing assessment is built on a trusting working relationship between teachers and parents. And no longer dependent solely on high stakes tests and other forms of summative measurement of learning.

Filed Under: Governance & Leadership Tagged With: change, communication, Coronavirus, COVID-19, parents, teaching during coronavirus

Maintain Learning Expectations No Matter the Setting

October 6, 2020 by Rhonda Renfro

African-American mother supervises her teenaged son as he studies on his computer

The “start of school” has come and gone, and school district officials have made some of the hardest decisions they have ever made. Decisions that require re-evaluation nearly every day. The building preparation, bus preparation, and schedule concerns have all been addressed to the degree that gets the school year going. Now, it’s time to focus on teaching and learning. Ensuring that all students, whether entirely on-site, fully online, in a hybrid setting, or even homeschooled, reach a level of learning such that they are prepared for their future, as unsure as that may be.

Districts have long had curriculum, instruction, and assessment conversations. They have made decisions as a district regarding their local curriculum and expectations for student performance.  Those conversations and decisions are critical within a district to ensure equal opportunity for students and smooth transitions from grade-level-to-grade-level and course-to-course. The professional staff has, in turn, had detailed conversations about the importance of those decisions and any ramifications for instruction and assessment.  Those decisions, though, have probably only been communicated generally to parents. 

In a typical school year or school environment, as a district, you are covered! Let’s get started!  However, there is NOTHING normal about this school year. Students are attending school in a myriad of ways. For the decisions made by professional staff to be implemented for all the varieties of ways that students “attend” school, communication must be carefully planned and executed. Without good communication, unintended results might occur. Those unintended results might include:

  • inequity issues among students,
  • missed building blocks within the learning process,
  • an unclear vision of what is “good enough” for student success,
  • and students may work very hard but misunderstand expectations. Therefore, when they re-enter the in-person setting, they may feel their hard work was wasted.

For the most part, parents are engaged with helping their children succeed as students; investing in their children’s success is a high priority. However, parents have jobs, multiple children, past experiences with school, and rarely do they have professional training or experience as educators. Some of the decisions that the district made will make complete sense to their staff, but not necessarily to the people charged with monitoring and implementing the remote portion of a student’s instruction. 

Often, it isn’t the “what” that non-educators can’t understand, it’s “why?”  Having not been present for discussions among professional staff, decisions are communicated as, “Here’s what we are going to do,” not as, “Here’s what we are going to do, this is why we are doing it, and these are the expectations for your child because of what we’re doing.” In other words, the expectation has been to communicate decisions to stakeholders and parents without necessarily explaining “why” that decision was made.

This school year, with so many variables for how students are being educated, why is just as important to parents as what. Knowing why a particular decision was made could go a long way toward alleviating unintended consequences. It may also help parents determine appropriate steps to help a struggling student without losing sight of the expectation. The time spent designing this communication might pay big dividends when students come back together in a more “normal” setting. 

Filed Under: Governance & Leadership Tagged With: communication, Coronavirus, COVID-19, educational leadership

Communicating with Parents: Mediums and Methods for Success

September 6, 2016 by cliweb

download_pdf_smcommunicationWe live in a fast-paced world where society as a whole communicates and receives feedback within seconds.  This has become the expected norm in social settings and the business world and has also affected how educators connect with the parents of our nation’s most important product — children.  Here are some keys to communicate efficiently and effectively in this ever-changing world.

Mediums

Sending a letter home or waiting until parent-teacher conferences before contacting home allows too much time to pass.  Immediate communication, when possible, can help correct academic and social behaviors by identifying obstacles to learning in a timely manner.  While nothing can replace a face-to-face conversation, there are some options to bridge the gap until that can happen.

Email and texting.  These approaches can be used as a quick reminder about tests and field trips, a class update, or to schedule that face-to face appointment.  Keep in mind that you are an educator.  While it may be convenient to use slang, lowercase letters, or trendy abbreviations within texts or emails, it may not leave a favorable impression on the parents of the child you are teaching.

Social media.  Creating a private group for parents to follow is a common way to communicate with a large group and keep everyone informed.  It is a fun way to share positive events through quick posts and photos.  Always make sure to have parent permission when including images or work of students. Once again, it is still important to use a formal writing style when posting updates.

Webpages.  Many school districts offer links to teacher pages.  Parents can review calendars, classroom activities, assignments, and schedules.  Teachers can add links to helpful websites, textbook logins, and educational articles.  They can also provide email, phone, and office hours so parents know when and how teachers can be reached. The key for using this medium is to update it frequently so the information is current and not outdated.

Electronic management programs.  School districts often use a single electronic organizational system to house both student information and grades. Parents have access to the program and can typically do any of the following:  provide personal individual student details, update records, contact the school, check student grades and attendance, and upload money to a lunch program.

Video conferencing.  While the above options aren’t a face-to-face conversation, they do allow an electronic dialogue to take place.  Facetime, Skype, and Zoom are just a few applications available for video conferencing where parents and teachers can see each other and converse even though participants are not in the same room.  They are fairly simple to operate and the download time is negligible.  Video conferencing can also allow screen sharing to take place so teachers can display documents for parents to review.  When a parent cannot attend an onsite conference, this alternative is a close second.

Phone or Tablet Applications.  Parents who are interested in immediate, frequent communication are downloading teacher-selected applications to their phones, tablets, and iPads. These applications are private and convenient for busy lifestyles.  A few suggestions for this type of application include:

Google Apps for Education. These are the most commonly used applications that allow communication through shared documents, drives, and calendars.

Bloomz. When scheduling parent-teacher conferences, providing class updates, sharing photos, and soliciting parent volunteers, this application is very helpful.

Appletree.  Formally known as BuzzMob, this application has similar capabilities as the previously mentioned apps. One unique feature is multi-language translation capability.

Remind. This free app will help teachers communicate effectively via text with parents and students. Send messages to a whole group or individuals.

Smiling_Teacher_jpgMethods

The education of students cannot be reduced to emotionless technology.  The combination of people, feelings, and uncontrolled variables requires teachers to make decisions and communicate in a timely fashion.  Even when the communication needs to take place quickly, teachers should still be personable in order for any type of conversation to be received well.  Remember the basic tenets of good communication whether communication is real time or via electronic medium.

Establish rapport.  Common ground is an essential concept for effectively working together.  Include something positive to start the conversation, address the concern in question, and then close with another positive point. This helps both parties identify things students are doing well and where the student needs to focus his or her efforts.

Goal setting.  Whenever possible, offer some short-term goals to support desired student behaviors.  If the behavior needs long-term corrective action, providing some suggestions that deliver faster gains encourages continued efforts to reach the big picture.

Listen first. Talk later.  People are more willing to take suggestions if they feel they have been heard.   Effectively communicating with parents is critical to the success of the child.  No one needs to win.  Struggling over who is correct or at fault wastes valuable time.  Although parents should be made aware of student behaviors, take the time to listen to their explanations and ideas first.  It may help you fit pieces of a puzzle together!

The key for effective parent communication is to realize that communication mediums and methods should be identified and addressed on an individual student basis.  Some parents are tech savvy, while others may not even have an email address.  It takes time to discover what works best.  The earlier in the school year options are outlined, the greater the chance for success for all!

Filed Under: Instruction Tagged With: communication, email, face-to-face, goals, immediacy, parents, rapport, social behaviors, social media, technology

Footer

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter

Curriculum Leadership Institute
PO Box 284,
McPherson, KS  67460
620-412-3432

Copyright © 2023 · Genesis Sample on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

  • About CLI
  • Contact Us
  • Employment Opportunities
  • Privacy Policy