This video, School Communication with Families, will help teachers get organized for the first day of class and the first contact with students’ parents. This video will give teachers, especially new teachers, ideas and strategies to organize, facilitate and implement a successful beginning to the school year and interaction with student families at Back to School Night and beyond. It will show teachers how to set up procedures and routines, classroom rules, the seating charts, the room arrangement, communication with parents, opening activities and how to build a positive mindset for teaching and learning. We want teachers to learn to anticipate and remove any potential problems that will hinder a successful relationship with parents and families. This video is excellent advice for kindergarten teachers, first grade teachers, second grade teachers, third grade teachers, fourth grade teachers, fifth grade teachers, sixth grade teachers, seventh grade teachers, eighth grade teachers, high school teachers and administrators, teacher coaches and mentors.
The advice and tips in this video can work for any school subject or grade level; primary, elementary, middle school and high school - it is appropriate for math, science, English Language Arts, English Language Development, social studies, art, music, PE and maker space and/or Fab Labs - having this good start on the first day of interaction with parents will improve the instruction of the Common Core State Standards - the mindset will be positive that will translate into better student achievement -This video emphasizes the "how to"; "nuts and bolts" of positive starts and positive plans for all students with the help of parents. This video will teach strategies to provide opportunities for student, parent and teacher success. Learning cannot happen if students do not understand the expectations and do not have a positive attitude and mindset. Student success is more likely with parents as part of the instructional team. This is important for all students, especially English language learners. This organized and positive classroom will build the foundation for the common core state standards in all content areas (math, science, English language arts, social studies). All stakeholders; administrators, teachers, parents, and students will benefit from the tips and strategies illustrated in this video. These tips are based on twenty years of experience as a teacher and principal, the majority of my experience was with students of color, poverty, and English language learners (ELL). It is so important to provide a welcoming atmosphere for families at school. The author/ creator of this video has been influenced by other experts in the field; Harry Wong , Carol Dweck, Envoy Training, Ruby Paine and Robert Marzano all of which have great ideas to help teachers provide effective and engaging instruction with the help of parents. Primary grades teachers, middle school teachers and high school teachers will find valuable information in these videos and the accompanying web page. SBAC test scores and learning in general will improve with a positive mindset in the classroom and school in general; creating a school to home connection that benefits students. A partnership between home and school can only help improve student achievement plus it makes the school experience more positive and happy.