A Guide to Parent-Teacher Collaboration

Teachers and parents are essential partners in a student’s education. It’s important for teachers and parents to establish a healthy relationship so that each side can work together to develop and sustain academic growth. When parents and teachers communicate openly, they can better understand the student’s strengths and weaknesses and provide the necessary support for the student. 

Let’s look at the benefits of strong parent-teacher collaboration and some ways parents and teachers can work together to help students succeed. 

The Benefits of Strong Parent-Teacher Collaboration

Students whose parents have a close relationship with their teachers benefit from additional learning support inside and outside of the classroom. When parents are up to date on what’s going on at school, they can make sure their student is staying on track and going to school prepared. Teachers benefit from this relationship as well by knowing they can reach out to parents to discuss a student’s progress. 

 The key benefits of parent-teacher collaboration:

 

• Collaboration builds a positive school experience for students, teachers, and parents. 
• Parents can support academic growth with supplemental learning at home. 
• Teachers learn more about their student’s strengths and challenges. 
• Parents stay on top of their student’s academic progress. 
• Students see that teachers and parents are a support team. 

How to Ensure Parent-Teacher Collaboration 

ParentSquare connects teachers and parents by simplifying the communication process. Instead of trying to reach each other via email or cell phone, teachers and parents can easily communicate through the ParentSquare platform. Teachers use the platform to send out mass communications, emergency alerts, attendance updates, and more. Parents use the platform to stay informed about what their child is doing in school and what they need to prepare for. 

With an online communication platform, you can ensure that nothing gets lost in translation. Parents get up to date information about their student’s progress and teachers get to save time by streamlining the communication process.  

Scheduling teacher-parent conferences early in the school year is key to building strong relationships between teachers and parents. This is an opportunity for teachers to get to know their student’s families and understand their needs. For parents, this is an opportunity to learn more about the teacher and build trust between each other. During the conference, parents and teachers can discuss what has worked well for the student in the past and what challenges the student is currently facing. Together, teachers and parents can come up with a game plan to support the student’s academic journey.

3. Get Parents Involved at School 

 

There are plenty of ways to get parents more involved at school. Teachers can ask parents to volunteer to supervise field trips and extracurricular activities. Additionally, parents can come in to celebrate holidays at school. This can be difficult for parents with busy schedules but it’s a great way to strengthen the teacher-parent relationship. It’s also healthy for students to see their parents taking an active role in their education. Parents and teachers are a team; students who recognize this may be less likely to get wrapped up in behavioral problems at school. 

Stay Connected at Varnett Public Schools 

Varnett Public Schools understands the importance of harnessing positive parent-teacher collaboration. Varnett uses ParentSquare to make collaboration as easy as possible, especially for busy parents and parents whose first language isn’t English. At Varnett, parents are encouraged to get involved and collaborate with their child’s teacher. 

When teachers and parents work as a team, they create an optimal learning environment for the student. Parents can help build and maintain quality relationships with teachers by staying connected, attending parent-teacher conferences, and getting involved in school activities. Strong parent-teacher collaboration empowers students to stay on track and achieve their academic goals. Get to know your child’s teachers and together you can watch your child excel.