Listen as Often
as You Speak

Send home a brief questionnaire asking families of new students to share information about their child and family. Families know their children best, so this is an opportunity to get to know things about students that would not be obvious based on first impressions. This type of outreach to families is especially important for students who are more introverted and those who are going through transitions or challenges. Students with developmental or intellectual disabilities may still be developing their skills for self-awareness and self-advocacy, so a parent or caregiver perspective can offer shortcuts to supporting student success. If families do not return the survey, this is also important information - suggesting that the family may need a different outreach approach or that they may be going through challenges. Personal outreach to follow up can help you build positive relationships that could result in connecting families with supportive resources. 

Home visits have been shown to strengthen relationships and support student success.  A recent study of students in Washington, D.C. demonstrated a positive impact of home visits on reducing absenteeism, reducing disciplinary incidents, and improving academic performance. Speaking with families in a location of their choice shows that you are genuinely interested in getting to know them. This approach also provides a focused opportunity for mutual information-sharing and learning from one another.

Personal phone calls to share something positive set a friendly tone and establish the value that teachers place on communication and partnership. Phone calls are better than emails or post cards because teachers can ask if the parent or caregiver has any questions or concerns they would like to discuss. 

When hosting family events, use Exit Ticket Surveys to generate input and ideas for future activities. To maximize access for all families, station language-diverse volunteers who can record responses from families with diverse literacy levels.

World Cafe is a model for creating greater equity of voice by breaking a large group into more intimate discussion groups. Tables are set up with poster sheets containing one topic or question. A facilitator encourages all table group members to take turns sharing input, transcribing their responses onto the poster sheets. 

Focus groups provide another way to hear from small groups of families - and can be structured to produce reliable data by taking many different groups from a consistent set of questions. Consider compensating families for their time by offering a meal, gift card, or stipend. This will help you attract greater diversity in participation.

Listening conferences may be a better use of time than traditional parent-teacher conferences. Families may already have a strong idea of how their child is feeling about school and doing at school, so asking them to identify their questions and concerns from the start will help you make the best use of limited time.

Show that you are listening by crediting families for the ways their input influences your decisions. When announcing changes, describe the ways that the change responds to feedback from families. If you receive suggestions that you do not agree with or are not able to implement, plan follow-up conversations where you can seek solutions that will address any underlying concerns.