3 Ways You Can Creatively Engage Parents This Year

Engaging parents is tough - especially in the fast-paced technology-driven society that we live in. Here are three creative ways to connect with parents, so that they are engaged in your classroom this fall!

1. Class News by Students, for Parents

How often have you been frustrated by the lack of response from your weekly newsletter or email blast to parents? The key is to get your students involved because parents are more likely to watch if their child is the "star."

• Use iMovie, Movenote, and even Screencast-o-matic (screencast) to create a movie and publish it on YouTube or Vimeo
• Create your own podcast on a program like AudioBoom or Voice Record Pro

As a side note, this is a great way to share homework assignments with students and parents. Many parents struggle with helping their child complete homework because they struggle to understand the directions or content. Create your own YouTube Channel with a brief screencast of 

2. Circle it Up with Simply Circle

Saving time and making communication with parents more efficient has never been easier than with SimplyCircle, a free website allows you to communicate quickly to entire groups or individual parents. This tool is the perfect way to ask for volunteers, receive donations, share documents, add photos, and communicate news.

3. Get Social

Parents love to see what's going on with their child each day. Why not create a closed group Facebook page, where you can communicate, share what is happening, and show pictures. It is a great way to get parents connected with a platform that they are already using.

Another teacher I know has turned to Instagram. She uses it to share news, events, and lessons learned through a simple picture and hashtag. Her parents (and students) love it!

Is your school social media policy strict? Why not create your own Edmodo page? This essentially does the same thing and eliminates a district's concerns about social media.

Want more cool ideas? 

Check out my SimpleK12 webinar this Saturday, August 22nd at 3 pm titled Creative Ways to Communicate with Parents.