Tips and Tricks for Communicating with Parents and Students
As the 2020-21 school year begins, most students and teachers are experiencing a start to the school year that is like no other. Whether you find yourself starting the year with in-person instruction, using a hybrid model, or teaching completely online, communicating effectively with parents and students is an important part of a teacher’s job and something that you may find to be more challenging while teaching remotely.
So as we transition back into teaching and learning this fall, we thought it might be helpful to revisit a few of the Learning Continuity webinars that we recorded earlier this spring. This webinar, in particular, will give you strategies that you can implement right away!
In the webinar, “Tips and Tricks for Communicating with Parents and Students,” Stacey Schuh (Michigan Virtual’s director of professional learning), Alex Rogers (kindergarten teacher at Holt Public Schools), Sam Sicilia (English teacher at Waverly High School), and Kristin Koch (senior ASL instructor at Michigan Virtual) discuss several different topics related to communicating with students and parents.
We hope you enjoy watching the webinar as Stacey, Alex, Sam, and Kristin explain and discuss the various resources and tips that they have in store for you, as well as what practices they find to be both effective and ineffective.
We have outlined the topics and tips below as well as linked the resources for you to make the content easier to refer back to and use! Enjoy!
Examples of means of communication
Remind: allows you to text parents
Google Voice: a great way to call families from your personal phone
Zoom: video conferencing
Old fashioned snail mail
Email or phone call
Tips for communication
Consider including parents in email communications with students
Stick with what means of communication you have already established
Build upon what has already been used
Keep it simple and consistent
Make sure students have opportunities to see you face-to-face
Lessons learned
Be flexible and understanding
Remember to connect with students on a personal level
Try to simplify and/or minimize communication so as not to overwhelm parents
Establish tools and strategies that work when learning is in the classroom or from home
Suggestions for educator support
Keep it light and be consistent
Make a daily schedule for yourself
Maintain connections with students
Make sure students know you are there for them and available to answer any questions
Resources for communication
Michigan Virtual Learning Research Institute
The Michigan Virtual Learning Research Institute (MVLRI) is a non-biased organization that exists to expand Michigan’s ability to support new learning models, engage in active research to inform new policies in online and blended learning, and strengthen the state’s infrastructures for sharing best practices. MVLRI works with all online learning environments to develop the best practices for the industry as a whole.
Related Posts
Everyone Has a Story
Learn how one Michigan educator helps students connect with each other and with the power of storytelling. Back when I began teaching...
Out of Order, Still Out of Reach: Variations in Pacing among World Language Students
Cuccolo & Green’s (2025) report highlighted the relationship between students’ assignment submission patterns and final course scores. Given that pacing has important implications for student performance, knowing what assignment submission patterns look like across schools with varying demographics could help prompt early identification and intervention. As such, this blog explores students’ assignment submission patterns based on school-level demographic information.
From Curiosity to Career: Exploring Possibilities with VR
Explore how immersive VR simulations helped students step into real-world roles: from EMTs to chefs, all without leaving the classroom.
Out of Order, Still Out of Reach: An Interview with a Researcher
In this blog, MVLRI researchers synthesize the key findings from two research studies about student assignment submission patterns in Michigan Virtual online courses.
Understanding Teacher-Student Communication in Online Courses: An Interview with a Researcher
In this interview, MVLRI researchers discuss key findings from a report highlighting how personalized, consistent, and timely communication in online courses can help students feel more connected to their online teachers and may also impact their success in the course. This blog also explores practical strategies for communicating effectively and building relationships with online students.
Understanding What Motivates High School Students to Pursue Computer Science
As computer science (CS) continues to grow in importance in K-12 education, understanding what motivates students to pursue this field is...