I will make tri-yearly phone calls to each family. These phone calls will have no agenda and will be lead by the parents’ questions, concerns and statements. I will simply check in with each family and remind them that I am available to them, for any reason. I will keep a digital journal of each phone call. I will record the length of each call, a summary of the call, the general tone of the call, and any follow-up actions that need my attention. At the end of the year, I will send out a parent survey regarding these calls.
After making 3 phone calls home and reviewing the parent survey below, I am confident in knowing the phone calls were appreciated and helped to make the school-home connection more meaningful. However, only 68% of my parents responded to the survey. And 99% of them were positive responses. One parent said she already felt connected to the school. Another parent felt that communication was lacking, especially when classroom problems came up. One comment that stands out was that although the calls were appreciated, they would have liked the 2nd call to be earlier in the year. In reflection I agree that the time between the first and second call was quite extended and would make the second call at the beginning of December next time. I would also send home paper copies of the survey to parents that are not available for online requests.