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Open Houses and Back to School Night

• Back-to-School Night 2.0: Supercharge your delivery and find new ways to engage and connect with students’ families using some of these technology suggestions. (Â鶹´«Ã½Èë¿Ú, 2015)
• A Checklist for Back-to-School Night: Explore five ideas for the big night: sign-ins on tables, brochures, a classroom constitution, a presentation, and an inviting classroom environment. (Â鶹´«Ã½Èë¿Ú, Updated 2015)
• Back-to-School Night: The Ultimate Conversation Starter for a Successful School Year: Review guidance on how to start the year right by being transparent, direct, and consistent. (Â鶹´«Ã½Èë¿Ú, Updated 2015)
• Engaging Parents: An Elementary Teacher's Field Guide: Reflect on what matters most to parents at back-to-school night, and consider ways to engage more deeply. (Â鶹´«Ã½Èë¿Ú, 2011)
• This Ain't Your Momma's Open House: Use QR codes, augmented reality, virtual tours, and other advances in classroom technology to change up the sometimes less-than-efficient rituals of parent open house. (Â鶹´«Ã½Èë¿Ú, 2014)

Parent-Teacher Conferences

• Parent-Teacher Conferences ... or Collaborative Conversations?: Find guidance on how to make the most of parent-teacher conferences: team up with students' families, encouraging them to take a more active role in driving the conversation. (Â鶹´«Ã½Èë¿Ú, 2015)
• 5 Parent-Teacher Conference Prep Tips: When prepping for parent conferences, communicate with families early and often, keep data handy, balance the conversation, invite the student, and make the experience pleasant. (Â鶹´«Ã½Èë¿Ú, 2015)
• Tips for Parent-Teacher Conferencing: Browse useful suggestions for making meetings with parents meaningful and rewarding. (Â鶹´«Ã½Èë¿Ú, Updated 2015)
• 5 Resources for Parent-Teacher Conferences: Dive into a curated list of resources to improve parent-teacher conferences, including ideas for highlighting student progress and questions every parent should ask. (Â鶹´«Ã½Èë¿Ú, Updated 2015)

Developing Relationships With Parents

• 7 Questions to Ask Parents at the Beginning of the Year: Ask parents these seven questions at the start of the year to help build partnerships to support student learning. Also worth checking out (from the same author): "The Power of the Positive Call Home" and "20 Tips for Developing Positive Relationships With Parents." (Â鶹´«Ã½Èë¿Ú, 2014)
• 8 Tips for Reaching Out to Parents: Find tips for engaging with parents, from avoiding confrontation and communicating clearly, to earning their trust on back-to-school night and coaching their children's after-school activities. (Â鶹´«Ã½Èë¿Ú, Updated 2015)
• 12 Conversation Starters on What Parents Want You (Teachers) to Know: Check out 12 conversations that all teachers should be having with their students' parents. (Â鶹´«Ã½Èë¿Ú, 2013)
• Rethinking Difficult Parents: Explore suggestions on reframing difficult parents as teachers' allies. (Â鶹´«Ã½Èë¿Ú, 2013)
• : Learn about the value of parent/guardian surveys for teachers at all grade levels. (Blogging Through the Fourth Dimension, 2016)

Parent Participation at School

• 5 Tips for Engaging Parent Volunteers in the Classroom: Discover the top hurdles and success strategies for engaging parent volunteers in the classroom. (Â鶹´«Ã½Èë¿Ú, 2013)
• Engaging Parents of English-Language Learners: See how a kindergarten teacher with a large population of English-language learners builds community by inviting parents into his classroom. (Â鶹´«Ã½Èë¿Ú, 2015)
• 19 Proven Tips for Getting Parents Involved at School: Explore 19 proven strategies, contributed by members of the Â鶹´«Ã½Èë¿Ú and GreatSchools communities, for increasing family engagement and strengthening the home-to-school connection. (Â鶹´«Ã½Èë¿Ú, 2014)

Using Technology to Connect With Parents

• Old School or New School, Keep Parents Involved: Take a look at old-school and new-school strategies to keep parents involved. (Â鶹´«Ã½Èë¿Ú, 2013)
• Parent Communication Toolbox: Review a wide range of digital tools to keep parents involved when face-to-face communication isn't possible. (Â鶹´«Ã½Èë¿Ú, 2014)
• Using Scannable Technology to Reach Parents Year Round: Keep parents in the loop about classroom community activities and homework using tools like Quick Response codes and Augmented Reality triggers. (Â鶹´«Ã½Èë¿Ú, 2014)
• : Discover tools to facilitate better parent-teacher communication including messenger apps, portfolio tools, digital gradebooks, blogs, class websites, and social media. (Common Sense Education, 2016)

For resources related to working with parents, visit Â鶹´«Ã½Èë¿Ú's Family Engagement page; the "Family Engagement: Resource Roundup" is a great place to start. Looking for more resources for new teachers? Visit the "Resources Toolkit for New Teachers" page for other curated guides, and check out all of Â鶹´«Ã½Èë¿Ú’s content on the New Teachers page.