Talk to Guardians
It's a bit different for me as I work in a private school, so guardians send their children here out of desire, not requirement. However, I think that guardians should be contacted for a variety of reasons, no matter the school/district.
- If you are having discipline or grade-related issues with a student, the guardian should know. This way, when report cards go out, they're not surprised.
- If a student starts slipping even though they were doing well before. There might be something going on at home or other issues. You and the guardian can work together.
- If a student is doing extraordinarily well. People like to know that their children are exceeding expectations, and it could be the thing that will brighten their day.
- If a student who was doing poorly is now doing better. Improvement! That's the point of communication. Again, guardians like to know if someone is doing better, or pinpointing a problem.
- Behavior issues should also be brought up, good or bad. Has the student's behavior gotten better so that they are now a better model for the school? Or is it decreasing? Again, you and the guardian can work together to pinpoint issues or to enhance good behavior.
**Never assume that the student is living with two parents. Even in "upper-class" districts, things happen and the student can be a foster child, can have one or both parents gone or dead, might be living with grandparents or aunts/uncles, etc. This is very, very important - and ties in with communication with other teachers (and administration).**
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