When I think of the phrase Communication Breakdown, I think of two things- the great song by Led Zeppelin and that comminication is a huge issue in schools today, but not always in the way we think of an issue.
When I was in Middle School (waaaaay back in the late 80’s early 90’s), schools communicated with parents by sending home papers, mailing report cards and calling them. That is the list and it worked pretty well at the time. Now that it is 2017, we have more than a few ways to connect with parents. In my district, here are just a few ways we communicate with our students and parents:
- Our SIS through email/phone call blasts
- Our LMS through updates, messages, and calendars
- School Website
- Remind
- Friday Folders/Papers Sent Home
I reached out to some colleagues to get their feedback and here are their replies
- Class Dojo (I use Class Dojo. I also created a group in my email with all of the parental email addresses- I like to send out reminders this way.)
- Calling them on the phone (the most effective method is definitely a phone call)
- Remind
- Message through our LMS (messaging provides a digital record of communication)
- A letter home (This may sound very old school, but a letter home has still been the most effective way.)
My thought is that we have TOO MANY ways to communicate with our constituents and that when we blast all of these places, people don’t listen- it becomes white noise. The key is to find out what methods are the most effective for our community. For us, it may be email, but I don’t know many students who willingly have email accounts and many parents only have them to sign up for apps with.
The key is to find out what methods are the most effective for our community. For us, it may be email, but I don’t know many students who willingly have email accounts and many parents only have them to sign up for apps with.
What have you found to be the most effective way to communicate with your school community?
