Interesting article in the Washington Post recently regarding a school's communication breakdown with parents. To sum it up, the parents wanted more timely communication with the school, especially regarding how the PTO money was spent.
I can't speak to the money part of calling parents, but I can when it comes to grades. In the past year, our parents have had access to their child's grades via our grading software. Great! I try and keep my grades within a week of being up-to-date (even though I've heard stories from students at other schools regarding teachers that are less than prompt about entering grades).
E-mail is great, too. I try and answer e-mails from parents within 24 hours, and having a working e-mail address increases a parent's odds that they'll hear from me.
Phone calls? Not so much. I've never been a great phone person, but that's no excuse--that's my job. My excuse for not calling parents more? The phone numbers almost never seem to work. The numbers we have in our system are too often disconnected or outdated. I guess that can be a problem when your family moves four times a year.
I really should do a better job of calling parents. I've already called more parents than normal this year, due to tardies, with varying success. This week, I'll be making grade-related calls. I hope something works...
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