Educators value the involvement and support of parents, guardians, families and communities in schools.

For me, moving into my final practicum, this was perhaps the standard that needed the most attention. With COVID and the quarterly system challenge, until 491 I had not taught a group of learners for more than two weeks. How are you supposed to connect with guardians, families and communities in this little time? Very difficult.

So, coming into 491, I made it a goal of mine to connect with these important resources for my learners. Again, I have a lot of work to do in this area, but I have made huge progress:

Parent-Teacher Interviews (PTI)

During (and leading up to) PTI, I spoke to many parents/guardians about their learner’s progress. At first I was a little nervous to do this over the phone, but it turned out to be easier than I thought. Parents were very kind, many expressing to me that their child loved my class. This is reassuring for a new teacher. One parent I spoke to told me about how her child is shut down in his other classes for being “the class clown”, but that it is nice for him to have a space and an understanding teacher who knows how to redirect that beautiful energy into learning. While still following classroom guidelines, he is free to express himself in all of his quirkiness.

Indigenous Ed Department

For one struggling learner in particular, I have been in communication with his Indigenous Ed worker many times regarding his home life and our mutual interest in his overall well-being. It has been really lovely having someone in the school community whose job it is to support teachers in their effort to support Indigenous learners. In the process of Reconciliation, Indigenizing curriculum, and helping improve graduation rates for Indigenous peoples it is SO SO SO IMPORTANT that educators utilize these wonderful resources in their school communities.

Edmodo – Parent involvement

At the beginning of the quarter, I set up an online classroom for my science students, but, since the server is located in the US, I had to ask for parent permission. Information forms were sent home with learners and had to be returned signed by a parent or guardian. Some parents choose to track their child’s progress via this online classroom. This is another way for teacher and parent to communicate and share learning progress.

Grades are posted online

Grades are updated often and posted online for parents to check.

Report Cards

Over Spring Break, I wrote extensive report card comments for all of my learners. For me, numbers do not say everything about an individuals growth, and it is (and will continue to be) a priority of mine to write personalized comments for every learner. This is time consuming, but well worth it, I think.

Parent emails

I conferred with several parents over email, and they have thanked me for my speedy replies, curriculum design, and willingness to help.