From:  oswego.edu

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  The numbers we have in our system are too often disconnected or outdated.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...

Adapted from my blog:  ramblingcteteacher.blogspot.com