How To Connect With Parents As A School Counselor
You bust your butt to make sure that your students are thriving at school. You implement run engaging small groups, and your counseling lessons are interactive and informative, and you collaborate with teachers to provide the right interventions. But sometimes it still seems like you aren’t seeing any progress with your students. Does this sound familiar? If so, keep reading.
Today I am going to remind you about an important piece of school counseling that can often be overlooked or forgotten about - family engagement. While it is absolutely important that we do everything we can at school to help each student excel, we cannot forget to involve the families. This can feel tricky because we work with so many different students, but below you’ll find 5 easy ways to connect with and support families.
Family Engagement Tip #1 - Introduce Yourself
Introducing yourself to families at your school may seem simple, but it can be so impactful! If a student’s family members know who you are, they may be more likely to reach out to you for support. Another important thing to remember is that some family members may feel uncomfortable in a school setting due to past experiences that they, or their students, have had. Taking time to introduce yourself not only lets them know who you are, but also gives them a chance to have a positive connection at school.
You can introduce yourself formally at school events such as open house or back to school nights. You can also do it informally by popping in to conferences or meetings they they are attending, or simply saying hi to families you see in the hallways.
It doesn’t have to be a long discussion, you can simply just share your name, briefly explain your role, and invite them to reach out to you if they have any concerns or questions. Going out of your way to say hello is a great way to connect with families and show that you care about them and their students.
Family Engagement Tip #2 - Make Positive Phone Calls
Thankfully, positive phone calls are something that are getting more and more common at schools. The idea behind them is to increase the amount of positive interactions with parents and families instead of only reaching out when there is a concern.
As a school counselor, many of the students we consistently work with may not get much positive feedback. A phone call from the school might mean that their student is in trouble… again. When we also connect with families to let them know the great things that are happening, it gives them a chance to see the school, and their child, in a more positive light.
There have been so many times when a parent answered my call hesitantly, only to tell me that I made their day after I shared about a success that they child had. A two minute phone call can really make a difference, pus it allows you to connect with families and let them know that you’re on their team!
Family Engagement Tip #3 - Send Home A Newsletter
Another way to boost family engagement in your school counseling program is to send home newsletters or information sheets about what you are teaching. You can send these home with students, or through and online format like e-mail, Smore, or Google Classroom.
These can be short letters that give a brief explanation of the topic you are covering. You can also include tips to help parents build upon the skills at home. This gives families the opportunity to help their students understand that these concepts are valuable not just at school, but at home too.
Sending home information about what you are teaching in your counseling lessons is also great way to promote your counseling program. It will help parents to know who you are and feel comfortable reaching out to you.
Short on time? Not sure what to include? Check out these 25 print-and-go character education family letters!
Family Engagement Tip #4 - Create A School Counseling Website
Creating a social media page or a website for your school counseling program can be another great strategy for family engagement. You can let them know what you are covering in your lessons by posting a newsletter, as well as additional resources that they might find helpful.
Here are some other ideas of what to post on your counseling website:
A counseling newsletter with information about your lessons
Links to articles, blog posts, or research about child development, behavior, parenting, etc.
Upcoming school events
Community resources such as food pantries, events, organizations, etc.
SEL videos that would be helpful to students
A great way to share these resources is through a page on your school’s website, a Facebook page or a section on Google Classroom. You can also create a website using WIX or another platform.
Family Engagement Tip #5 - Host Parent and Family Nights
One of my all time favorite ways to connect with parents is by hosting a family learning night. These can take many different forms, and can be used to cover various topics. Family nights, like this social emotional learning one, are a fun way to promote family bonding while they learn together about important social emotional themes. If you have a PTA at your school, this is a great event to work on together!
Not sure where to start? Click here to grab a free ideas list and planning sheet.
Family engagement is such an important part of the work we do with students. Even though we know this to be true, it often gets left behind by more urgent needs. My hope is that these 5 tips will give you quick, practical ways to connect with and support the families at your school.
