Parent contacts are one of the most important part of any educator's job; however, they tend to get pushed to the way side and unfortunately only happen when necessary. No news is good news, right? Not in this case. Even though we may not get this feeling from parents, they want to hear about all the good things their child is accomplishing in school. When we choose to celebrate the little things for our students, it will make the bigger, less positive behavior easier to communicate with parents. As a counselor, we unfortunately communicate mostly with parents when things aren't going so well for a student. 504s, counseling referrals, and behavior plans all can somehow send an uninviting message to parents: " There is something wrong with my child!!" Even though this is NEVER the message that we want to come across, sometimes that is how it may seem to parents who are doing everything they can for their child. The task for us is to then find a way to communicate with parents in those positive ways, even if they are few and far between. Here are some ways you can communicate and build a positive rapport with parents as a school counselor: 1. Send a Postcard Home No matter how many students you have, make it a habit to send a postcard home every month or week. I have had many administrators say they would like each faculty member to send a certain amount of postcards home a month with a positive message on it about a student. New or veteran counselor, this is a great way for students to get their positive message at home WITH their parents. 2. Attend school functions Whether it is a family night, band concert, school carnival, you need to GO TO THEM! Now, I am not saying you have to attend every single event, but make a goal to attend two or three a year. If you make yourself a visible presence in the community, that will help parents relate to you when you are in those tough meetings. Also, it gives you a chance to see your students in a positive light so you can connect with them the next day at school. Nothing will make a student feel more special than telling them you saw them score the winning point or rocked their performance on the saxophone. 3. Parent Newsletters Think those pesky newsletters are only for classroom teachers? Think again. My first year as a school counselor my administrator set the expectation for me that I would send home a monthly newsletter. After I grumbled a little bit about this, I decided to embrace it. And six years later, I really love doing it. Here are some of the topics I include: a short summary of my monthly lessons, small groups I offer, a topic that parents may want to learn more about, and a few others if I feel like it. Click on the link below to see one of my newsletters. Short on time? Check out Smore.com to help you build a quick and easy newsletter. You can send it out via email, or have a link posted onto the school website. It is FREE and super easy to use. 4. Positive Phone Calls As a counselor, it may feel a little weird just to pick up the phone and call a parent and make a positive phone call, especially if you do not see a student on a daily basis. No matter what, it is a habit you need to get into doing! One way you can do this is by talking to your teacher daily to see what kind of day a student has had in the classroom. If you have a student in a small group for respect, ask their teacher if they did a good job being respectful today or if they make an act of kindness to another student. This information will help with making the phone call. 5. Hold Parent Events This may sound scary, but it can totally be a hit! This year our district started by hosting "Coffee with the Counselor." This goes perfect for me, because I love coffee, and my student associate me with my trusty coffee cup every morning :). What we did is pick a topic that we wanted parents to be informed on, find tangible handouts they could use, and then provide food and coffee. Sounds simple right? It was! Now, I found that morning was not a great time for my parents in my building, so I changed it up second semester and hosted a "Cookies with the Counselor" during parent-teacher conferences in the spring semester. But don't limit yourself it these, get creative! Remember, any positive parent contact is a win! Always remember that working with the parent will help ensure the success of our students. And that really what we are all working towards, right? Good luck! Please comment below if you have any questions! Parent Newsletter Example
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