by Jess
Partnerships between parents and teachers are crucial to success. Yes, they take a lot of work on both parties, but are of the utmost importance to ensure the student is getting what they need and are successful in school. My knowledge on this topic comes from my years as a high school teacher and as a Director of a program for students with special needs. I learned that if my students were going to not only get through their required coursework and also feel successful, it was going to take a good deal of work from me as the teacher as well as the parent or parents of the students. I am going to give you some tips on partnering with teachers that I have found successful. These tips include getting to know the teacher and practical ways to stay connected. Finally, I will share a personal success story.
Probably one of the most important and intimate parts of having a partnership is getting to know the teacher, informing them of your student’s disability, needs, and keeping the teacher informed. I suggest that you contact the teacher ahead of the school year if possible and request a phone or face-to-face meeting. Be sure to tell the teacher why you want to meet. Come prepared and remember they are busy, so don’t take up a great deal of time if possible. Be sure to tell the teacher about the disability, how long the child has been diagnosed, how it has been treated in the past, and what your hopes are. I can tell you from personal experience that I enjoyed when parents came to meet with me and brought records, information on the disability, and gave me honest goals they have for their child. Also, if something significant changes, be sure to tell the teacher right away. This is important because it may change the way the student gets materials, sits, etc.
Stay connected to the teacher on a regular basis. Realize the teacher probably has a large number of students to handle, so having face-to-face meetings probably will not be realistic. However, it is perfectly acceptable to ask the teacher to contact you if they notice any unusual changes, behavior, etc. Give the teacher your contact information and be sure to check it. Provide the teacher your house phone, cell phone, and e-mail information- and be sure to stay on top of these. I can remember parents that would tell me that they don’t check their voicemail after I wondered why they didn’t return any of my five phone calls. You may even want to ask what method of communication the teacher prefers. For a high school teacher, they probably do a lot of grading and data entry on the computer, so e-mail may work better. However, maybe they have an aide that takes care of those things and they have two preparation periods during the day, so phone calls are best. Whatever the case, stay connected and don’t wait for there to be a huge problem before you contact them.
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My last thing to share is a personal success story about one of my students. A few years back I had a student come into one of my classes that had a poor academic history and several disabilities. Her mom was doing her best, but the daughter just wasn’t finding success and because of this was in trouble often. Her mom decided she would try more of a proactive role and met with me about a week before school started. We met in my class and she brought some short articles about the disabilities, a copy of her prior grades and behavior records, and most importantly, came open and honest. She told me about the struggles her daughter had and that she really wanted to see her daughter succeed. We discussed how we would connect on a regular basis (E-mail was our preferred mode of communication) and e-mailed one another about once per week. I was doing my best to ask questions, stay on top of the student, and appreciated the mom for her active role in the education of her daughter. She would e-mail me to ask questions, ask for clarification on assignments, and even just to give me an update on a visit to a doctor. No matter what, we stayed connected and grew to appreciate one another. The daughter had some struggles, but for the first time in years had very few behavior issues. On top of that, she passed every class that year. While I know I had to do with the success, I have to give obvious credit to the student. She knew her mom and I were working to help her as much as we could and she worked hard to make us proud of her. Her mom also earns lots of credit here as well. She was always honest, open, and appreciative. She encouraged her daughter and cheered me on as a teacher. We made a great team! This young lady went on to graduate high school and was accepted to a nearby college. She is doing well as a college student and is working towards her bachelor’s degree.
Dr. Jessica Alvarado is currently an Assistant Professor at Ashford University. She teaches classes for inspiring teachers and childcare workers. Her passion for education drives her to teach her classes in an exciting way and her current position allows continue her goal of helping all students to be successful.
Jennifer said on November 3, 2011
Wonderful and very helpful.