Overview:
Veteran teacher, Thomas Courtney, takes the stress of back to school planning with these simple tasks.
Back to school night. It comes every year, and it comes fast. It’s often the first chance you have to meet parents, share your vision of the year with them, and to open up your class showcasing the miracles you perform on a daily basis.
It’s also stressful as all get out.
But it doesn’t have to be. With time you can streamline, industrialize, and simplify the process. After doing so, back-to-school night can become something you can genuinely look forward to. I asked veteran colleagues who both love back-to-school, and who do so very efficiently and effectively, what they do and how they do it. Here is what they told me.
Send Invitations
Sending invitations by means of the typical office flyer is a decent way of attracting parents. But great teachers ,now tt’s far more effective when that invitation is from the students themselves. One teacher I know, who always has a high percentage of parents attend, said this: “I have my students make the invitations. I use a template, but they draw a card specifically for their parents and write about what they want their parents to see. It brings them in every year like crazy.”
Incentivize and Give Students Jobs
Great teachers know that parents come to school events when their children are in the spotlight, especially when their children get to do something special. What you want to do is create these conditions before it happens. Another colleague, who knocks it out of the park each year, said this: “I always feature art, and let parents know that the kids will have an art gallery tour. I usually put on reader’s theater performances, or easy-to-teach skits. Kids love them and so do parents. It’s barely any of my time at centers. Also, I give jobs. Food monitors, greeters, paper collectors, art gallery docent, things like that. Almost every one I give a job to has parents that come.”
Keep Presentations Brief and Set a Time
Most back-to-school nights are about one to two hours. Classes are then left open for parents to visit. Typically, after an introduction in the assembly area with the principal, teachers head back to await the arrivals. But veteran teachers know that many parents have multiple classes to visit.
If giving a parent presentation is something you’d like to do, then give a time before hand to parents when your “show” will start. Keep it brief, no more than fifteen minutes. You’ll get far more parents that way and they’ll appreciate your understanding.
Make the Room Feel Good
If you think of back-to-school night a little like hosting a party, this might help. A genius colleague of mine said this: “Play some music, place some cookies and juice on the back table, and soften the lighting a little. If it’s hot, put on a fan. If it’s cold, turn the heater on. Wear something that says, ‘I’m a teacher’.” She recommends you always put a sign out your door that reads, “Welcome Parents.” You don’t need to spend big bucks to let parents know they are welcome. Remember, many of these parents are just coming from a stressful day at their own work or are about to leave for one. Helping them feel at ease will help conversations unfold easier too.
Have a Theme, Not a Headache
All teachers know that parents are going to want to see something, some project, when they come to back-to-school night. But veteran teachers do something that gets a great result, and with less stress. One colleague who gets tons of parental praise about the event told me: “Shhh…my secret is Teacherspayteachers.com. I know it’s cheesy but they have hundreds of quick themes exactly for back-to-school night. No way I could think of them myself. Costs me five bucks and I’ve got something fun parents will love without hassle.”
Other teachers told me they stick to a tried-and-true theme: ‘All About Me’ essays or stories. Kids illustrate a portrait and talk about their progress and goals in the new grade.
Keep Information on File for Sidetalks
In my experience, most parents want to come to meet, look through some work, and give a big thumbs up to their child and to you. But not all do. Parents know their child well. Some parents expect a lot of their children, and some are concerned about their child’s development thus far. Some are both. These parents may want to check in with you during back-to-school beyond the cute project you’ve put on the desk.
You want to make sure to show these parents that indeed you do know how their child is progressing. Therefore, by back-to-school night, be sure to have assessment data in folders to show parents who ask. It’s a good idea as well to schedule a meeting with these parents sometime soon. But whoever is there, showing parents quickly that you’ve collected data, and that you’ve gotten to know their child is going to help you build trust with the very parents who may lack it coming in the door.
Collect Paperwork and Provide Paperwork
One of the best pieces of advice for back-to-school night came from my colleague Ms. Cordero: “I get all of the field trip forms, permission slips, library check-out, media-usage forms, everything signed right at back-to-school night. It takes some preparation, but it saves me loads of time, and hassle, later in the year.” Other teachers collect information from parents about confirming allergies, contact information, signing up for group messaging, or even what parents would like to see in their child’s development this year.
Equally, back-to-school night is a great way to provide paperwork. Make available copies for after school programs, and upcoming events. If by now you haven’t sent home a parent letter to teachers, make sure that one is on their desks at back-to-school night.
Send a Thank You
Finally, once the event is over, be sure to send home a thank you in some form, whether it be virtual or physical on paper. Thank all parents who could come and be understanding of those who could not make it. Offer anyone who wasn’t there a chance to come by and receive or drop off the same information. Let parents know that you’re looking forward to talking about their child’s progress at parent-teacher conferences.
