[00:00:20] Ellie: Hey there. Before we jump in today, we want to take a second to thank our listeners for spending time with us. We can see that more listeners are tuning in every week, and we are so glad you found us.

[00:00:32] Brittany: Yes. I can't believe we are approaching two years and almost a hundred episodes.

[00:00:37] Ellie: I know! it's unbelievable. And we're hoping that even more teachers can find us and tune in as we head back to school. We would love it if you could leave us a five star rating or write a quick review and let teachers know what you're hearing on the podcast. Okay. Onto one of our favorite topics, communicating with parents. We all know parent communication matters, but it can also be one of the most time consuming and emotionally draining parts of teaching, especially if there's no plan in place.

[00:01:09] Brittany: Exactly. When it's done well, it builds trust. It strengthens student support and it reduces misunderstandings. But when it's reactive and scattered, it can lead to stress, miscommunication, and a whole lot of burnout.

[00:01:29] Ellie: Welcome to the Teaching Toolbox podcast. I'm Ellie, and I'm here with my buddy Brittany.

[00:01:35] Brittany: Hello.

[00:01:36] Ellie: And in this episode, we're breaking down how to make parent communication more strategic, sustainable, and supportive for everyone involved. We'll talk about why it matters, what methods actually work, and how to set yourself up with realistic systems that won't take over your week.

[00:01:52] Brittany: All right, so let's start with why this is worth talking about, why parent communication matters. Because this isn't just about appeasing parents or checking a box to say we did it.

[00:02:05] Ellie: One study we found was a randomized field study where sixth and ninth grade students received a daily phone call home and a text or written message. This was during a mandatory summer school program, so it was for a shorter amount of time. And the study found that frequent teacher family communication immediately increased student engagement measured by homework completion rates, on task behavior, and class participation, and on average, teacher family communication increased the odds that students completed their homework by 40%,

[00:02:39] decreased teacher redirection of students' attention by about 25%,

[00:02:44] and increased class participation rates by 15%. Based on surveys and interviews with the teachers and students, they identified three main ways that communication was likely to affect engagement, and that was stronger teacher-student relationships, expanded parental involvement, and increased student motivation.

[00:03:05] Brittany: Wow, that's interesting. Maybe for many students, just knowing that their parent or guardian and their teachers are in contact is enough to motivate them to pay attention and get the work done.

[00:03:18] Ellie: Right. And of course we're not saying this is every single student. We know that there are students that are more challenging, but if we're talking about a class as a whole, communication can be especially important in middle school where students are becoming more independent and parents might be getting less day-to-day information than they did in elementary school.

[00:03:36] And staying proactive in communication can keep families in the loop and build a team mindset rather than an us versus them kind of feeling.

[00:03:45] Brittany: Yeah. It can also help prevent conflict. When parents already know you and have heard from you before there's a problem, they are more likely to respond with trust instead of defensiveness.

[00:03:58] Ellie: Right,

[00:03:59] like the first time you call them and say, Hey, we've got a problem.

[00:04:03] Might not go as well as like, Hey, I just wanted to let you know that your student's doing a fantastic job.

[00:04:09] Brittany: Yeah.

[00:04:10] Ellie: All right, so now we've got the why. Let's talk about the how. There are so many ways to communicate now. Email, phone calls, messaging apps, learning platforms, printed newsletters. The key is choosing methods that are effective and sustainable. When I first started teaching middle school, I don't think parents had access to online grades, so they couldn't be checking on that. So we sent a Friday folder every week with assessments, announcements, that type of thing. And students had to get that signed and return it on Monday. And actually even once grades were online, I still wanted parents to see the physical paper assessment to see what types of things students really understood, 'cause it was math, ?

[00:04:51] Brittany: But as you try to decide what method or tool you want to use, start by checking with your school. Are there a required platform that you have to use or recommended tools? You might not need to reinvent the wheel.

[00:05:06] And if you're new to middle school this year, check with your team members if you have them. They may already have established tools or systems in place..

[00:05:16] Ellie: Right. And you can just build on that. One option is to pick a primary method for each audience. For example, email or messaging app like Remind can be used for parents, and Google Classroom for students. That way you're not juggling five different systems.

[00:05:30] Brittany: It's also worth thinking about accessibility. Do your families have internet access? Do they prefer text to email? You might offer a short text survey at the beginning of the year to see what works best for your community.

[00:05:44] Ellie: Yes, yes, I definitely included the internet access in my beginning of the year survey. And then, no matter what tools you use, consistency is potentially more important than frequency. Like if you're sending updates every other Friday, stick to that. If you only send monthly updates, make sure there are clear and thorough.

[00:06:04] Brittany: Also, templates are your best friend.

[00:06:07] You could create reusable formats for things like missing work alerts, behavior check-ins, unit newsletters, so you're not starting from scratch each time. And I do have a resource for you for back to school that has lots of these templates in it. It includes a newsletter template for each month.

[00:06:30] And it includes a lot of different forms for behavior check-ins, missing work, and so on. And we'll link that in the show notes.

[00:06:37] Ellie: That's awesome. That sounds like it would make life easier for sure.

[00:06:40] Brittany: So let's talk about the planning part that actually help save your sanity. You could start by setting your communication boundaries early. We mentioned this in our last episode. For example, let parents know your response hours and how quickly they can expect to hear back. That helps prevent late night emails or next day pressure.

[00:07:02] I would often tell my parents, you can expect an email in 24 to 48 hours.

[00:07:07] Ellie: Mm-hmm. That's reasonable. Yeah. You might also build communication into your schedule, like setting aside 30 minutes every Friday to send positive notes home or respond to messages. Treat it like a recurring task, not an afterthoughts. If you schedule it, it's more likely to happen.

[00:07:26] Brittany: And plan for proactive contact instead of waiting until there's a problem. Make a goal to reach out to a few families each week with something positive or at least neutral, like a quick update on progress or a heads up about an upcoming project.

[00:07:43] Ellie: Yeah. And when there's a problem, it's advantageous to contact parents before the child gets home and tells their version of the story. So if you've gotta make a call like that, you wanna get to contact the parents as soon as you can. You don't want parents surprised, with an offie, wacky, or half accurate account of what may have happened. So find some time to email or call parents before the end of the day when needed.

[00:08:08] Brittany: And it's also a good idea in those situations to communicate with administration so that they have a heads up that there's an issue, but that you're handling it.

[00:08:19] Ellie: Another great idea is to track your contacts, the times that you've contacted parents. A simple spreadsheet or communication log lets you see who you've talked to and when, and that helps to make sure no one is falling through the cracks.

[00:08:33] Brittany: And finally give yourself permission not to respond to everything immediately. Some messages don't really need a reply. Like Tommy's bringing in his project today. Great, thanks. I don't need to reply to you. Others can wait. A system helps you filter what needs action and what can be archived.

[00:08:54] Ellie: Mm-hmm. So whether you're brand new to teaching middle school this year, or just want a calmer communication strategy , think about building some systems that can support you, not stress you out.

[00:09:06] Brittany: Start with why it matters. Choose one or two methods that fit your community and build in time to communicate consistently, without let it taking over your day.

[00:09:18] Ellie: Yes, and it's all about having clarity, consistency, and care in your teaching toolbox, so everyone is working together for the students.

[00:09:29] Brittany: If this episode gave you an idea you wanna try this year, share it with a teammate or teaching friend who might need it too.

[00:09:37] Ellie: And we'd love to hear your favorite tip or tool for parent communication. Leave it in a quick review so we can keep the conversation going. Have a great day.