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Challenges
Communication can be challenging due to the variety of methods each teacher uses to communicate.  Parents can get info from a number of sources: Option C, Bulldog, email, PIE folders  Google Classroom, etc.  This can be daunting for any parent. Add to the fact that a significant number of students live in households where little English is spoken.

My Role
Email is the first line of communication I follow, generally. If there is a serious issue, a phone call and/or conference would be scheduled. I have used students to be the interpreter for the parents at a conference before.

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I look forward to seeing my SJV friends today. Please feel free to leave comments as you make connections and share ideas

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As an art teacher, I don't have to engage with families as often as other teachers in the school.  When I do, it is usually through email.  I usually respond within hours. If I have a serious concern, I will call a parent. I do use google classroom with some of my classes and post updates, assignments and information on my school webpage. I am also a parent of two children at SJV, so many parents have my cell phone number and text me with questions or concerns. This can be both convenient and a challenge at times.

Challenges
I do agree with Rebecca, that a universal system for finding information, homework assignments, etc. should be developed. Having to look on the school website, in assignment books, on option c, in google classroom, etc., (and for multiple teachers) to keep up on assignments/progress can be confusing and tiresome. I, at times, give up on checking all these sources for my two children.

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Becky Weller                                                                                  Engaging families

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Becky Weller                                                                                  Engaging families

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I use google classroom (even posted videos), and my teacher page communicate with students and families. I also email or call families. I also invite parents into the classroom, those who do come in, I believe understand that their children are truly learning.

Challenges
Some families utilize all the means of communicating and some do not. Some are sporadic. I am not sure the method of communicating is the problem here.

Meeting Challenges
I feel that once I meet a family they are usually on board with understanding that their child really is in a good position to do well. but the families must be engaged, too. SOme families are single parent families or struggling families so staying on top of what is happening in school is on the back burner for them. So trying to get as much in those 6 hr school days is what I am trying to meet

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Challenges
1. As our school becomes more diverse, I find it difficult, at times, to communicate effectively with our families.

2. Being able to accommodate the many needs of our students, academically and behaviorally. We have limited resources and sometimes students fall through the cracks.

Meeting the Challenges:

1. I will use an interpreter whenever possible. Luckily we have a Spanish teacher who is willing to sit in on conferences with us.  However, that does not cover all our language barriers.

We all use various types of communications, maybe too many and this could be confusing to parents. I do try to keep my communication as simple as possible. I am always available for questions and will respond in a timely manner.

2.  We should Involve parents in our "FAITH" behavior system so they can transfer that into their home life. Many times we hear parents say "He/she does the same thing at home." Many of our students do not have a consistent home life.  The "good-old days" no longer exist. We have to change our mindset on what is "normal"or "how we were raised".

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1. Challenges include parents who do not encourage their children to be accountable for their own work. Some parents contact us to ask for redos, and request that we give reminders to their children on every device possible.  Children need to step up to the plate and own their education.
2. I recently refused a parent who asks for redos and extensions on projects and tests. I am starting to use the work "expired."   Students have opted to take  a pic of the HW board.  Unfortunately,  they don't look at it later that  evening. I have encouraged writing it out for several students. I am trying to find a way to minimize my re-work and maximize their learning.

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Challenges
1.  As per challenges I feel that at 6th grade students should be more responsible for engaging in the communication aspect of their education. They are constantly texting and communicating with each other inside and outside of the classroom. I stress at the beginning of the school year if they have problems with homework or grades to email myself. Yet many of them struggle to write a basic email with an adult. They put messages the subject line, use informal lingo and develop ideas that are sometimes incoherent. It is my hopes that through technology integration middle school students can be more accountable for their education and grades, developing skills they will need for the real world.

My Part
2. Currently I use various forms of communication to let both parents and students know what is going on in the classroom. I have used seesaw, remind101, googleclassroom. I do struggle at times to turn off the constant communication but I know that with the ease of technology I can answer quickly in a prompt manner.

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Challenges

1. In the age of tech, we are often emailing or texting. There of course are no emotions necessarily in the words. Comminucation can be taken wrong. Although for email, it is my quickest and easiet form of communication. I have a significant hearing loss in one ear and slight in my other.  So, phone is difficult, not that I want to avoid speaking to parents.  I do understand a bit of Spanish when people are speaking and I can read written word fairly decent. In general, helping parents understand "teacher terminology" is a challenge. The terminology often needs to be explained to them.  I have teachers pages that are very clear and I believe our website is great. Parents do not utilize enough. As teachers, we all do things our way and think we are right. Parents might get used to certain ways and then August rolls around and new routines in so many ways sometimes.

My Part:

As I said I do prefer email for a few reasons. Once in a while do need to meet more than conference time and explain and show parents items. My teacher pages have multi links. Again, I can understand Spanish for most part. I can't not speak well.  Once parents meet me, they know we are all working together for their child. I will do what we need to  for them for success. I make my class feel like a family and we take care of. My husband is hispanic and often when some parents see him or know that, they feel ( I believe) and more of a sense of connection.

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Challenges:
One challenge we face is families that do not speak English, or have very limited English. Not only is it hard to conference with them, but it is hard for these families to help their children with school work. I think it can be intimidating for them to ask for help and therefore things go undone...what can appear to be not caring is actually not understanding.
Another challenge is communication with parents. As we are using more technology to communicate with parents, I think they are finding it difficult to keep up.

My Part:
I communicate with parents through email, and then a phone call if needed. I feel email is the best way to communicate because even if there is a language barrier, someone can read the message to them. I do not like to use Google Translator because it is not always accurate. I use my website to keep parents up-to-date in the classroom and I encourage them to check in Google Classroom for a more  in-depth look at what is going on in the classroom.

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It is often difficult to find times to meet with the parents because of their work schedules. In addition, they may have multiple children to take care of which also limits the time they are available.  Language is often a concern for many of us and finding translators can be difficult.

I tried to communicate through email to give updates or address concerns. Email is often the easiest way to be reached during the school day especially when we don’t alway have a break in the day to attend a meeting or make a phone call.

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One challenge with engaging families that seems common among other teachers and for myself is the language barrier between families and teachers I think each year there seems to be more families that speak another language. Also, I find that some families do not follow through with communication. I will put information out through class website, a letter or even in the child's assignment book but I find that the parents are not reading the information or checking my website.

My Part:
I try to do my best to get information out to parents who don't understand English but I know using google translator doesn't always work out correctly. Sometimes I reach out through older siblings who can communicate the information need to their parents. I am definitely open for suggestions about the best way to go about this and help close that communication gap. I also just make sure to try different ways to engage with families. I think it is important to sometimes send home handwritten notes, as well as emails and using technology to share classroom information.

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Challenges:
I find that this year especially language is a huge barrier for many families. It also seems that the families you need to contact and meet with the most are the ones with the greatest language barriers. I know that as a school we try our best to accommodate families with Yanni translating at conferences when possible, however, it is not always possible.  I have found that I have a couple families who are low income families do not have access to internet at home.  This is not a large percentage, but with information all being posted online, it is a challenge for some students to access information.  I also find that many 21st century families from all walks of life are busy and always on the go.  Many times both of the parents work to support the family. They don't always have time to stop and respond to emails or dedicate time to school work.

My Part:
I try to always be available to parents via email. I also try to make myself available during the day if parents need to talk face-to-face. I try keep my website updated weekly. I get to know each family and their needs concerning technology and communication. Some parents prefer emails and others prefer notes. I also try to gauge the amount of internet access available in the home to determine if I have to send extra information home. I do not translate information myself for parents because I do not speak Spanish or Arabic (the 2 languages in my classroom), and I do not want to insult parents. I am also aware that many parents (and students) can speak a language fluently but cannot read or write the language.

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Parents
Many times parents have shared HOW do I access
the grades, events, or general information about the school.
The services we have to communicate may not be used by all parents. Many still want paper copies.
Students have shared they do not know the passcode from the parent;- therefore, they do not know the grades posted in Option C.
Creating group emails is a challenge for the organizational
activities as well as homeroom list.
My Part
I try to use as many methods that I understand how to use.
I am not sure if they are read by all parents . That  sometimes comes back as the" teacher didn't inform me"

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Challenges
As many of my fellow faculty members stated one of the challenges I face is reaching all of my families due to a language barrier. I do use google translate and even ask our Spanish teacher to translate emails or letters home so I have what I want to be said clearly written to the family. Another challenge I find is being able to reach all my families through a single source of media- I would love to be able to send out a mass email, or something of that nature that every family in my class will be able to read instead of wasting so much paper. Not all of my families have email. Or when I do send an email I am not sure that everyone got the email or saw the email. The same with my website. It is on the school site but not every family reads the information.
Meeting the challenges
I am very quick to responding with emails back and forth with parents. As I said before I use google translate and our school interpreter for help. When I cannot reach a family I send papers home in the homework book. But I see other teachers around my age who use types of social media for classrooms that they are able to reach their families which I would love to learn about. I love to learn new ways to communicate with families and build better relationships.

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1-Challenges
I don't have the skills to communicate with parents in their own language. We have a diverse community in or school and we cannot always find the interpreters we need for conferences.
Another challenge would be that usually both parents need to work to support the tuition of a Catholic school...therefore time to communicate or set up a conference time is difficult.
I also have found that many times parents , especially in these first few years of their child's education, don't always follow through with the technological forms of communication and miss out on some important classroom information.
2-Meeting Challenges
To address the third point, I try to send a variety of methods of communication home to the parents with information... unfortunately, this may get them into a bad habit of expecting it for future grades.
I try to send directions home on the how to utilize the technological pieces of our communication early on in the year and re-iterate often however this does not help with parent who do not speak English.

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Engaging Families
Challenges:
Communication to Parents
Spending many hours over the weekends with updating teacher web page and recording grades in Option C with no way of knowing what families check teacher page weekly or what families are viewing grades in Option C. Behavior and Missed Homework assignments  are also recorded in Option C with my detailed explanations, but I never get feedback from parents. So I guess my challenges are having a way that Option C and Teacher Page could program it so the teacher knows when these are viewed. I would think at least the Behavior notices/missed homework would be able to program this since they go directly to parents email address.
Meeting Challenges:
My ways of communicating to my parents  are by phone, email, homework book, Teacher Web Page, Option C, and through the PIE.(Parent Information Envelope- goes home every Wednesday)I have two parents that never sign the homework book out of 17. I update 2 pages of my Teacher page every Sunday. The two pages updated are The Classroom Lessons for the week and the Weekly Reminders page. Online tests are recorded in Option C. Any hard copies of graded work are sent home in the PIE after recorded on Option C. I return phone calls after school. If I can not reach them by phone, I email them that I will call back the next day. I leave my email open all day and try to check  3 times a day. If possible I return an email response to the parent as soon as possible!
Honestly, I feel that I am talking to myself with updating my teacher page, since I feel only a couple parents view weekly!!!

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Challenges:
-Communication with ELL families: There are families that speak very limited English and important information gets lost in communication. Also, this makes it difficult for the parents to support the students with homework and review of material.

Ways to meet the challenges:
During meetings I will ask that a translator is present.  Messages or notes can be translated into the families first language; however, I have had times when a note needed to be sent home last minute and was not able to have it translated. This is when I worry that information is being lost in the communication. I also attempt to make sure positives are recognized not only concerns.

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Challenges:
*There is population of non-English speaking families who have limited communication skills which poses  challenges. At SJVRS, contact information is not always current and parents do not inform the school when changes occur, therefore making communication difficult. I sometimes feel communication is lacking because there are some parents who do not return emails or phone calls.

Meeting challenges:
I use a variety of ways to communicate with parents. Emails, assignment books, phone calls, and even text messages are used to communicate with them. Responding to parents as soon as possible is important. Parents know I will also respond with 24 hours.

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Engaging Families
Challenge:
We currently have many forums for our families to find information, it may be too many which can be overwhelming, especially with multiple children.  I think some parents do not know where to look for information at all, or are overwhelmed at all the different places to look - website, Option C, facebook, teacher web pages, google classroom, various other communication apps etc.  I would like to see a streamlined process that all parents are familiar with and feel comfortable being engaged and an active part of our school community. Parents need more help with Option C so they can keep up with grades, discipline etc. Many do not use the feature or do not know how to access properly.
Strategies:
I keep my parent communication up to date and respond in a timely manner. My teacher webpage is updated weekly and I keep it short and to the point - what we are working on, upcoming important events, tests that are scheduled. The students use google classroom and I encourage parents to familiarize themselves with this feature since it gives them a more in-depth understanding of their student work. I encourage email communication and respond usually within a few hours to at the very least acknowledge the email if I do not have an immediate answer.

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Challenges:
* ELL families- some students have parents who either do not speak English or have limited English language skills
* Communication - email received and sent.  I receive many emails from parents which  I  always make an effort to answer immediately,  if possible. However, there are many times when information that is requested from parents goes unanswered or not returned.
Ways to meet the challenges:
* ELL challenge--  I use an interpreter when meeting with a parent with limited English language skills.  Even though I speak through another person, I continue to make eye contact with the parent so that they know I am truly interested in their questions or concerns and I am willing to do whatever I can to meet the needs of their child.
* Communication-  I continue to reach out as much as possible to the parents, informing them of upcoming tests, projects, or events.  In order to solve any problems that arise, I try to keep all conversations on a positive note. I also communicate when their child's accomplishments are good and do not just focus on problems. I often will send an email just telling them that their child had a good grade on a quiz or that they have made progress on a goal.

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1. Challenges when facing 21st century families: constant communication through email and parents who side with children and view the teacher as an ¨enemy¨ rather than working as a team.

2. In terms of communication, I tell parents that I will be in contact within the next 24 hours. I always strive to be as courteous as possible in interactions and to communicate through a positive rather than negative lens.

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Please watch the video and respond to the 2 questions.