Teachers and parents can try the following tactics for improving parent-teacher communication:

Regular in-person communication: This type of communication works great for parents who typically drop off and pick up their children from school.

Parent-teacher conferences: This type of communication is less consistent, but parents and teachers can schedule meetings to discuss a student’s work and future goals.

Phone calls and emails: Parents with busy work or personal schedules may not have the opportunity to go to school or schedule conferences. These parents may be easier to reach on the phone or via email. Teachers can also use phone calls and emails to regularly communicate with parents between conferences.

Text messages: Some teachers use mass text messages or special messaging apps to communicate with parents. A number of text services cater specifically to teachers, such as Remind.

Open houses: Most schools host annual open houses where parents can visit their children’s classrooms. This allows teachers to meet parents for the first time or to meet a second parent who may not be in regular communication.

Parent-teacher associations: Parents and teachers can establish ongoing relationships through board meetings or PTA meetings in which they help make decisions for the school.

Homework handouts and newsletters: Teachers can create handouts for students to take home with them containing information about homework and other tasks. Teachers can also write weekly or monthly newsletters to let parents know what is going on in the classroom and how they can participate.

Class websites: Teachers can create websites for their classes to post announcements, homework, and reminders. This helps ensure that assignments don’t get lost in communication between the classroom and home. Other similar methods of communication include social media sites .