The Roles of Educators in Developing Parent Partnerships

When parents and teachers collaborate in the educational process, the students become the beneficiaries of a powerful partnership. The best way to avoid conflicts with parents is to have good communication with all parents on a regular basis.

Teachers and school administrators need to find out how to best communicate with each parent. (Examples: Face-to-face, Email, Phone, Text, Traveling folders that go back and forth from home to school)

• Neither parents or educators should play the blame game
• Handle your parents with tender loving care (TLC)
• Communicate honestly, but tactfully and professionally with parents
• Make your first contact with the parent a positive one
• Stay in touch … regularly

Further, the school can increase the bond between parents and the school to sustain greater achievement and involvement over the years of school with the following suggestions:

• Treat children as unique and not according to stereotypes
  • Remember that the education should be individualized.
  • Treat all children with respect regardless of their type of disability, ethnicity, religious or social status of the family.
• Schools should be flexible but maintain standards
  • The school must insist on achievement and maximal effort but make efforts to assist the families and the student to overcome obstacles.
• Schools should encourage participation by tailoring programs to meet the needs of single parents and culturally diverse parents (Price, Mayfield, McFadden, & Marsh, 2001).
• Remember that parents and teachers share responsibility and have specific roles in creating a working relationship that will help children succeed academically. In order to connect schools with parents, educators can include parents in classroom activities and engage parents in important decisions. Teacher/parent conferences are helpful for encouraging parent involvement in the educational process.