Communication with parents: it works both ways: timely, two-way communication tools such as e-mail, a school Web site, telephone messaging and a listserv are key to developing parent trust and participation.

Hi Mr. Neely, I live near your school and have subscribed to the BARK [the school's e-mail newsletter] for several months. My daughter may be a first grade student there in the fall of 2005 (she's staying at University Montessori in Irvine for kindergarten after attending preschool there). Our neighborhood school is Crown Valley, but I would really love for her to attend Bergeson. You have done an outstanding job keeping your families involved and informed. I sent e-mails to the contacts you provided regarding school funding just this week. Thank you very much for the newsworthy listserv messages, even for parents who aren't exactly affiliated with the school! Have a nice summer.

Opening my e-mail and finding notes such as this is like getting an "A" in a class in which I've worked very hard to succeed. My efforts to communicate with the parent community--rather than at it--are recognized, even beyond the bounds of the school's attendance area. Parents not only appreciate being kept apprised of their children's progress and the educational programs offered; they respond back with comments, ideas, participation and good old "atta boys!"

Serving as principal of Marian Bergeson Elementary School in Laguna Niguel and developing this dialogue with parents has been a remarkable experience.

As a parent, I feel that there is nothing more precious than my own two daughters, and I make the assumption this value is shared by every parent I come into contact with.

During my girls' school years, it was not only important to know about their teachers and how they were progressing academically, socially and personally, but also to be informed about what was happening in the life of their school. Although I was a teacher during those years, I wanted to know how I, as a parent, could support their school and how the school would support me in aiding in their education.

Such communication had its peaks and valleys. Some teachers had wonderful weekly newsletters and always initiated or responded to parent questions or concerns; others did not. The principal might or might not have an article in the monthly newsletter, which may or may not have made it home. Many times, notices from the class or the school were lost in the great black hole of the backpack.

More than once, important dates and events were posted on the school's marquee, but I didn't drive down that road or take the time to read them when I did. Meetings of the PTA or school site council were missed because timely notification didn't arrive home, or because morn and dad had other responsibilities that prevented our attendance.

Although numerous means of communication were available, there were pitfalls that limited their effectiveness. Further, none provided an effective route for two-way dialog.

These same challenges were apparent when I became principal four years ago. At that time, my goal was to solicit greater parent involvement and partnerships by expanding conversations with major stakeholders. In order for family members and the community to remain informed and involved, a more consistent and effective means of communication was needed; one that allowed for a two-way flow of information. By providing this format, a clear pathway to what J.L. Epstein defines as the six types of parental involvement (see box at right) in school could be established and maintained.

Using Epstein's framework to direct communication and strengthen parent partnerships, I have over time integrated four key technology communication tools: e-mail, a school Web site, a telephone messaging service and a listserv.

E-mail

Much like sticky notes and duct tape, we wonder how we ever coped without e-mail. The beauty of e-mail is that it provides parents access to the principal and allows the principal time to compose a proper response, rather than "shooting from the hip" on the telephone or in an in-person meeting.

Although there is concern that pro-rooting direct parent contact with the principal via e-mail will bury him or her in electronic correspondence, I haven't found this to be the case. E-mail has been a release valve for some potentially serious situations. Providing parents a missing piece of information often leads to understanding and calms a hot temper.

With e-mail, the principal can get a heads-up on a situation that a parent may not be comfortable discussing in person, or an issue that the principal did not know existed. The parent feels that the principal has taken the time to respond directly, whether the response is in the form of a return e-mail or a phone call.

One of my more important tasks is to be an umbrella for my teachers, protecting them from unnecessary interruptions or alerting them to parental concerns. Email allows me to do this by either handling situations for the teacher or by acting as an intermediary so that the parent and teacher can reach a resolution.

Another important function ore-mail is its ability to target specific groups for communication. This has been very effective in working with my School Site Council, Grade Level Council, GATE parents, the PTA and ad hoc committees. A list ore-mail addresses is saved in a word processing file or in the "address book." When the security of individual e-mail addresses is a concern, the addresses may be pasted into the Bcc (blind carbon copy) line.

Sending copies of agendas, minutes or Web site links to team members before an actual meeting saves time. It also permits clarifying questions or comments to be made prior to the event.

I publish my e-mail address in as many ways as possible: through newsletters, notes home, on business cards, on our Web site, etc. My office manager gives my e-mail address to parents during phone calls or on their visits to the office when I am not available. This has been a highly successful practice and parents welcome the courtesy.

School Web site

Creating and managing a school's Web site is the most challenging and labor-intensive piece of the four communication methods described here. It is, however, the one that provides the most options for communicating a wide range of information.

A key facet to the Web site's effectiveness is that I have taken on the role of the Webmaster. This allows me to make timely changes rather than being dependent on someone else whose sense of urgency or need does not match my own. Although I do admit to a long history of technology use (as a teacher, I had the first Apple Plus classroom computer in the district), current software is so easy to use that someone with basic word-processing skills can create a Web site for their school.

Once the site was completed, all we needed was support from our district's technology department to provide the Internet access computer. The Marian Bergeson Web site master template sits on my computer at home so that I can make changes in the evenings or on weekends, as they are needed.

A school's Web site communicates on both a macro and micro level. Numerous e-mails arrive from families planning to move into the city. A high priority for homebuyers is the quality of the neighborhood school. Our Web site gives parents access to demographic, academic and extra-curricular information that defines the school's mission and values. News media as well as public and private agencies "surfing the Web" have shared that our Web site helped them locate information important to their needs.

On the other end of the spectrum, the Web site should be a living document that provides relevant and timely information and services to students and parents. The Bergeson site includes the student/parent handbook, articles written by the principal or other staff, the calendar, email links to staff and other important topics. There are also links to Web sites that support curriculum, school and parental support groups and other sources of information. Opportunities to e-mail questions or comments to the principal are inserted throughout the site.

Connect-ED voice telephone messaging

The Capistrano Unified School District contracts with Notification Technologies, Inc. to provide a fee-based telephone messaging service, known as Connect-ED, for each school. The Connect-ED system gives each principal the ability to rapidly send a voice message to the homes of every student. Messages are used for emergencies, reminders about upcoming events, and for notifying or reassuring parents of safety issues.

The best time to send such a message is mid-day, when a parent may be home to receive it or it will be recorded on the home telephone messaging system.

Phone numbers are extracted from the district's Student Information System, with messages rapidly sent out using Connect-ED's 6,000 phone lines. The most beneficial aspect of this avenue of communication is that it is the principal's voice delivering the message.

Listserv

Dear Mr. Neely,

I want to thank you for preparing such a great e-mail newsletter for the parents of the school. It has been a great tool for our family. It is nice that it reflects Bergeson as a "friendly," neighborhood school and makes it less intimidating to both mother and child.

The SchoolServe E-mail Messaging Service, more commonly know as a listserv, is the most powerful of the four communication tools discussed here. This district-hosted system allows principals to broadcast e-mail out to each family and/or community member on the global list of e-mail addresses. Addresses are provided by parents on student emergency cards or through the school or district Web sites.

Bergeson's twice-weekly listserv emails, known as The BARK, reach 90 percent of our families. I am continually amazed, however, at the other locations our e-mails appear. I have received e-mail response to The BARK from outside our school's attendance area, from outside of California, and even from Canada. Grandparents, separated parents and family friends living far afield from our school regularly read our little newsletter.

Each listserv e-mail is made up of short, concise paragraphs with a variety of information, including safety alerts, meeting and school calendar reminders, special recognitions for students and staff and more. The listserv also allows the principal to easily embed Web site links that will provide parents with valuable resources.

When a special event or incident occurs, such as reorganizing classes because of unexpected enrollment shifts, The BARK provides the forum to explain why and how such a move is necessary. The listserv is extremely valuable to parents who share custody of a child, as both parents can receive this important information. The listserv e-mail carries a link allowing the receiver to send an e-mail back to the sender if there are questions or concerns.

When used in conjunction with Connect-ED, the school can quickly reach parents via telephone and listserv for important and time-sensitive information. For example, on one occasion, a nearby bank was robbed with the suspect escaping on foot. Our school was notified by the sheriff and immediately went on lock-down. In another situation, a child was followed home by a stranger who attempted to enter her home.

With both incidents we immediately put out a Connect-ED message to our community. In the first case we let them know what had happened and that all was well. In the second case, the message carried information about what happened and a description of the stranger. Both Connect-ED messages were followed up with a listserv e-mail containing the same information. Within minutes, a large number of community members were armed with factual and up-to-date information and didn't have to rely on the rumor mill.

Constructing bridges

Open, honest and timely communication with parents is the key to developing their trust, commitment and participation. By using these global communication tools, the principal can become a regular and welcomed guest in the lives of parents and students. E-mail, Connect-ED and the listserv are not dependent upon a recipient initiating contact with a Web site; thus the odds that information will be received is greatly increased, especially more so than a note sent home in the backpack.

E-mail, the school's Web site and the listserv can be integrated with other links to provide parents a rich array of resources recommended by the school. The use of these multi-pronged, technology-based communication tools in a school creates endless possibilities and can support every aspect of the six types of parental involvement.

School leaders who capitalize on these relationship-building opportunities will surely construct strong bridges to their schools' parent communities.

Resources

Epstein, J.L.; Coates, L.; Salinas, K.C.; Sanders, M.G. and Simon, B.S. (1997). School, Family, and Community Partnerships: Your Handbook for Action. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Sexsmith, Scott. (2004). "New Ways for Schools to Communicate with Parents." Capistrano Unified School District, Technology and Information Systems (www.capousd.org/tis/Improved %20Communications_files/frame.htm).

Schools and families as partners

The six types of parent involvement include:

1. Parenting: Assist families with parenting and child-rearing skills, understanding child and adolescent development and setting home conditions that support children as students at each grade level. Support parents in understanding family dynamics and structures.

2. Communicating: Communicate with families about school programs and student progress through effective school-to-home and home-to-school communications.

3. Volunteering: Improve recruitment, training, work and schedules to involve families as volunteers and audiences at the school and to support students and school programs.

4. Learning at home: Involve families with their children in activities at home, including homework and other curriculum-linked activities and decisions.

5. Decision making: Include families as participants in school decisions, governance and advocacy through PTA/PTO school councils, committees and other parent organizations.

6. Collaborating with the community: Coordinate resources and services for families, students and the school with businesses, agencies and other groups, and provide services to the community.

From "School, Family and Community Partnerships: Your Handbook for Action," (J.L. Epstein, et al., 1997, Corwin Press).

Edwin Neely is principal of Marian Bergeson Elementary School in the Capistrano Unified School District.