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Leadership and Collaboration: Parents and Community The teacher seeks appropriate
opportunities to collaborate with learners, families, colleagues, other school professionals, and
community members to ensure learner growth.

For this framing statement, the well-known phrase “teamwork makes the dream work”

rings true. Teaching as a career is far more demanding than I ever expected, particularly at the

elementary level. The daily pressure can be intense. Fortunately, I have amazing colleagues and

supportive parents to collaborate with this year. In my experience, when parents and educators

work together, students feel supported. And students feeling supported is what it’s all about.

The stance of the National PTA (2021) is to form bonds between parents and teachers to support

success for every student. I have recognized that when parents stay involved in their child’s

learning, students excel in the classroom. In Raising Good Children (2004), Thomas Lickona

writes that “the parents of successful people place a great emphasis on learning” (p. 335). These

are the parents who begin reading to their kids at a young age, take educational courses, visit

museums, and participate in other valuable learning experiences together. Likewise, when

parents feel safe communicating with me, the teacher, they tend to stay more involved

throughout the school year.

At the upper elementary level, we tend to see less and less parent involvement inside the

classroom. Parents sometimes join the class for field trips, but generally we have one or two

consistent volunteers throughout the year who want to help inside the classroom. For this

reason, parent teacher conferences and phone calls home are the top methods I use to

communicate with families. During one of my first classes in the MAT program, Classroom

Management and Discipline, I observed my host teacher lead student-led open house conferences

in a kindergarten classroom. I had little experience with student-led conferences, but I was
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hooked after my observation. My host teacher set up portfolio binders full of student work

samples before the conferences and went over expectations for student-led conferences with her

class. The kids proudly showed off their hard work as soon as they walked through the door.

The host teacher warmly welcomed families and used open ended communication strategies,

allowing time for comments, questions, and appropriate feedback regarding academics and

social-emotional well-being. She was both knowledgeable and approachable.

As often as possible, I choose the student-led open house style of conferences. It takes

some pressure off parents who may be nervous about visiting the classroom. I enjoy seeing my

students lead their families into the room and show off books they have created, work samples,

and artwork. According to Taylor and Nolan (2008), “involving students in the discussion of

their work and progress supports feelings of autonomy and provides an opportunity for students

to feel that their views and choices are respected” (p. 430). In this way, students can break the

ice between parents and teachers with their enthusiasm and involvement in the conference.

Student-led conferences give kids ownership in speaking to their families about how things are

going at school.

After the students share their work samples, I ask questions about favorite topics they’ve

learned so far in class, what has been tricky, or how I can support them within the classroom.

Students often feel the freedom to ask about seating arrangements at conferences, often

requesting for desks to be moved. Student-led conferences help students to feel engaged with

their educational process as they take an active role in describing their classroom happenings to

their families. In an article by Hackmann et al. (1998) students have also reported that they

prefer student-led conferences because they don’t “feel like people were saying things behind my

back” (p. 37). I think this is a key reason student-led conferences work so well. They provide
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opportunities for kids to take ownership and develop strong communication skills between

students, parents, and teachers.

Another way I have prioritized building relationships with families is through regular

phone calls home. Sometimes, the only time a parent hears from their child’s teacher is when

there is a problem at school. In their book Setting Limits in the Classroom, MacKenzie and

Stanzione (2010) encourage teachers to involve parents in the encouragement process by offering

students “Happy Grams,” other notes of encouragement, or making unsolicited complimentary

phone calls home. I try to make positive phone calls home a few times a year, noting memorable

things my students do and say in class ranging from anecdotes like, “Yesterday I accidentally

licked my cat!” to “…and when Mary got back to the tomb, Jesus wasn’t there. He had risen

from the grave!” My hope is that sharing snippets of both academic and non-academic

conversation will build rapport with families. Students spend a lot of time with their educators!

I hope that the connections made in my classroom will be genuine and lasting. One of my host

teachers recommended to always smile when you’re on the phone with families, whether the

conversation is lighthearted or difficult. She advised that people can hear a smile in your voice

and it’s important for building trust and rapport with families. These strategies have become part

of my practice to involve families by sharing the good things at school. Making those positive

phone calls first make it easier to reach out if and when more difficult conversations need to be

had.

Building a bridge between school and home can be intimidating as a new teacher. Being

open and approachable doesn’t come naturally to everyone, either. But knowing that students

thrive under supportive school and home environments should spur us as educators to place a

strong emphasis on building rapport with families. It can make all the difference.
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References

Hackmann, D., Kenworthy, J., & Nibbelink, S. (1998). Student empowerment through student-

led conferences. Middle School Journal, 30(1), 35–39.

http://www.jstor.org/stable/23023672

Mackenzie, R.J. & Stanzione, L. (2010). Setting limits in the classroom: A complete guide to

effective classroom management with a school-wide discipline plan (3rd ed.). Three

Rivers Press.

Lickona, T. D. (1994). Raising good children: From birth through the teenage years. Bantam.

PTA National standards for family-school partnerships. (2021).

https://www.pta.org/docs/default-source/files/runyourpta/2022/national-standards/

standards-overview.pdf

Taylor, C. & Nolen, S.B. (2008). Classroom assessment: Supporting teaching and learning in

real classrooms (2nd ed.). Pearson/Merrill/Prentice Hall.