Food For Thought Friday: 6 ways to build a positive relationship with parents & teachers

I have written so many times about the importance of positive relationships to support student success- parents/guardians and teachers need to work together to support our students. However, with the busyness of life building positive relationships can be a challenge. It is worth the time investment to build these relationships, not only will they support students, but it is always helpful to have another person in your corner! Parents are super insightful and can be a great bouncing board when trying to figure out the right kind of support. Teachers can always offer some advice on how to support different daily life skills at home. We need each other!

Today, I have out together a short post with a few ideas for building poise parent teacher relationships....and guardians this includes you too!!! You all play such a BIG role in the success of our kiddos. 


Keep reading to find out a few ways you can build positive relationships between parents and teachers. 

A few ways you can build positive relationships:

✔️listen and learn from one another
Parents have such  unique perspective on their child, this piece can be the missing piece in getting something new to click. Parents your child's interests with us, let us know your concerns, or what the child is like at home. All this information can help shape their education in terms of what options and choices to provide, how to present the information, and what might catch the student's attention. Teachers, share your questions, challenges, and successes with the parents. They may have some insight for you or they might be able to problem solve from you. Sometimes, what works at school can be easily supported at home. 

✔️be resourceful: provide information, guidance, and supports when appropriate 
This is closely connected to learn from one another- but a bit different. Teachers, share resources with parents. As teachers we often have knowledge of different supports in the community that can benefit or be of interest to different families- share these! Parents, you too- share resources and community associations with us. We need to support one another!

✔️greet one another with a hello & a smile- this can go a long way!
Say Hello and good-bye when you see one another! Showing our students that we connect, even just a smile & wave, can make an impression on our students. It helps build our community and strengthen our student's community. 

✔️communicate: share information about the student at home, at school, and in the community. Keep one another in the loop
Keep us in the loop- surprises are fun....on our birthday, but not in the classroom. Parents, let us know when something changes at home or when something might be affecting your child at school. We will do the same- we will let you know when changes to schedules & routines are about to take place and when your child had a tricky day. Let's work together and share information to help our students succeed. 

✔️explain actions & decisions: no one should be left wondering why.
Parents, ask teachers to explain actions and decisions. Without insider knowledge of a teacher's brain, it can be hard to figure out why they did what they did or even some of the lingo. Ask- we often forget that teachers have a unique way of talking and sharing information. I am sure most of us try to explain our logic, but life gets ahead of us and sometimes we are not as thorough in our explanations as we ought to be. So, please check-in and ask, we don't want anyone to be trying to make sense of things on their own. 

✔️be kind
Be kind to one another. We all have a hidden story and sometimes our actions can be misinterpreted. Let's be kind to one another, smile & wave, share information, and treat one another with respect. Not only are we modelling community principles for our children but we are building an inclusive learning community for us. Kindness is the foundation to any relationship & community. 

These simple things can make a world of difference for students.