Parent Communication

Interact with parents whenever you can. When they come to pick up their students, it’s a great opportunity to encourage them about how their student is growing or enlist their help with difficult behavior. Interacting with parents is especially encouraged when students are struggling with homework, and you believe they will struggle to complete it. Let the parent know that there is still work to be completed, and that you did not have enough time to master the concept today.

Sample Parent Conversations

Instructor: “Are you Jimmy’s Mom?”

Jimmy’s Mom: “Yes I am.”

Instructor: “Hi! My name is _________ and I worked with Jimmy today. I just wanted to let you know that he worked really hard today. He has made a lot of progress with fractions recently, and today he mastered his Mastery Check over reducing fractions.”

Jimmy’s Mom: “Wonderful! What’s a Mastery Check?”

Instructor: “A Mastery Check is the last page of a PK… er… topic in their binder, which we let them complete without assisting them. If they show Mastery on the page, they receive a FULL Reward Card!”

Jimmy’s Mom: “Oh how exciting! How did he do on his homework?”

Instructor: “I was able to discuss his homework with him at the end of the session. It looks like they are going over multi-digit multiplication in school, and we were having a bit of difficulty there. We were able to finish the first few problems, but we were unable to get through the whole thing.”

Jimmy’s Mom: “I really appreciate you letting me know. We can take a look at it when we get home.”

When talking to a parent, it’s important to be honest and upfront with them about their student’s progress that day. Even if a student had a difficult session, letting the parent know what’s going on can make a huge difference in their next visit. Also, remember that parents typically are not familiar with our Mathnasium lingo, such as PK, WOB, or Mastery Check. You may need to explain what those mean so the parent understands you.

Session Notes

You should use the Session Notes section of the Digital Workout Plan to communicate with the parent, and the content of the Last Stamp of the Day Conversation makes a good note if you don’t have something more specific to say!  Note: this is NOT the place for negative comments about the student’s behavior! That should go in the Internal Notes and be a direct conversation with the parent or your Center Director.