Although the ability of families to participate in their child’s learning at school varies widely, it is a KEY RESPONSIBILITY in early learning for educators to provide opportunities for families to understand both the instructional program and their child’s progress. Teaching staff establish and strengthen relationships with families by 1) communicating with them about the instructional program, 2) conferring with them about individual student learning progress, and 3) inviting them to be an active part of the educational process itself.
In this family-teacher conversation, one of Michelle and Molly’s families share the changes that they have seen in their child since working together to have common behavioral expectations and approaches based on two-way communication (using technology). Additional examples of family learning linkages include:
- Weekly Family Letter with Family Feedback Form
- Ongoing Special Family Events such as Muffins & Cupcakes with Mom
(4c-Communicating with Families: The teacher develops activities designed to engage families successfully and appropriately in their children’s learning; Proficient; Students/Families contribute to regular and ongoing two-way communication designed to engage families in the learning process; All of the teacher’s communications are highly sensitive to families’ cultural norms; BOTH Distinguished)
