Daily or weekly email updates are a very useful communication piece. You can let your students & their parents know how to make up for absences and remind them about homework. It takes some setup, but I've found it's definitely worth it. I'm thanked for these updates at every parent conference!
Set Up
The first day of school (or before, if possible), start collecting email addresses and enter them into your school email program. You can either:
(a) have a paper form that has them write their information that you will type later into your email program, or,
(b) make a form in Google that allows people to type their information in so you can copy-paste it later into your email program. For example: http://tinyurl.com/l8fccuk [GoogleForms automatically dumps everything into a spreadsheet you can sort & copy-paste from easily.] I prefer this, as sometimes it's hard to decipher their handwriting.
Outlook is especially nice for this, but any modern email program can do it. Make groups - one for each class - and add all your students/parents/etc. for each class to that group. Now you can send out updates unique to the class whenever you want! I include team teachers and case managers of IEP/504 students to the group, too.
Your school gradebook, if online, may also have an email function. If so, you won't have to set up a separate one. Just create emails & send them out to your classes! I'd include both parents and students, if you have that option.
(a) have a paper form that has them write their information that you will type later into your email program, or,
(b) make a form in Google that allows people to type their information in so you can copy-paste it later into your email program. For example: http://tinyurl.com/l8fccuk [GoogleForms automatically dumps everything into a spreadsheet you can sort & copy-paste from easily.] I prefer this, as sometimes it's hard to decipher their handwriting.
Outlook is especially nice for this, but any modern email program can do it. Make groups - one for each class - and add all your students/parents/etc. for each class to that group. Now you can send out updates unique to the class whenever you want! I include team teachers and case managers of IEP/504 students to the group, too.
Your school gradebook, if online, may also have an email function. If so, you won't have to set up a separate one. Just create emails & send them out to your classes! I'd include both parents and students, if you have that option.
What to Include?
Personally, at the end of each day I send out a rundown of what we did that day, how absentees can make it up, copies of any notes, and their homework assignment(s). A copy of one day's update is at right. Yes, it does take time, but it means I don't have students saying 'Did we do anything yesterday while I was out?' They already know the answer - and the best students already did it :) Parents also really appreciate being kept in the loop. I've done this for years and can attest that the three minutes it takes to do it each day is well worth it.
Typical Format:
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Between this, the website and Remind, my students and their parents ALWAYS know what's going on in my class. If you'd rather not do it daily, send it weekly! I find that freshmen in high school need it more frequently, but upperclassmen have developed organizational skills so need it less.
I can only wish that more teachers took the time to communicate as well as you do. If nothing else you are teaching our children how to be take responsibility for the things they can control the outcomes of. Well done!
- Parent of previous student, June 2015