Parent communication and involvement is extremely important to the success of our students although lack of parent involvement is one of the biggest problems that we face in school.  

We all have a variety of ways that we try to involve parents and communicate the happenings at school. Being a special education teacher, I do not have a homeroom, so my parent contact may look a bit different than a general education teacher.  

Here is just a sampling of some of my parent involvement ideas:

Good Notes or Happy Grams

I love to send home Good Notes or Happy Grams.  These are just simple notes that tell about something positive a child has done in school.  

I have even had postcards made that say Happy Gram so I can just jot a note down after school and stick it in the mail.  The kids love this!

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Friday Folder/Weekly Progress Report

A few years ago, I sent home folders every Friday with papers from the week and a weekly progress report. This report included behavior and work habits for the week and had a place for comments. It also required a parent’s signature. 

Parents seemed to like this as they could keep up to date on classwork and behavior.

Class Webpage / Blog

I love using a webpage to share information with parents.  This allows the parent to look at the information on their own time and from almost anywhere.  

On this page, I would include:

• homework,
• classroom information,
• poems that we might be working on,
• sight word lists,
• important links for parents, and
• lots of links for my students to use to review skills.

This page may also include a school calendar and contact information. 

Math/Reading Bags

Each week, I send home a bag with a reading or math activity in it that students can use at home with a parent.  This allows the parent to see what their child is working on in class and gives the student the opportunity for additional practice. 

For example, I may send home a bag with a student who is weak in addition skills that includes a version of addition memory, addition tic-tac-toe, and an addition board game. 

Share your unique parental involvement tips in the comments section!