Parent Teacher Relationships
Begin the school year by distributing "All About Me" type forms to every student. This form should be taken home and filled out by the family and child together. This is a great way to learn details about the child and get insight into their home-life. Knowing these details can help you build a relationship with the family. Make sure you ask about cultural differences and important holidays that are celebrated at home. This will allow you to create a welcoming and respectful learning environment to all.
Here are some examples of forms to use:
"All About My Child" is an assessment tool for ELL students created by Morrow, an emergent literacy guru. However, it is a great way to get to know ALL your students at the beginning of the year. Give the form to your student's parents and edit/add/delete form as needed. Some questions may be strictly ELL questions- delete those for your English-only students.
Get to know the parent/guardiant's first and last names ASAP. Mutual respect is gained when individuals feel important. This lets the parent/guardian know that you will be communicating with them throughout the year. It also shows the student that you are connected with their family and you all are working together to help the student succeed at school. I find it easy to make a spreadsheet with the names, so I can quickly access it before meeting/calling a parent. I think this is useful because alot of my students are from single homes and/or divorced parents. The student may have a different last name then their parents or guardians.
Here is a simple exapmle of how this spreadsheet can look: