Schools
Communicating with your child's teacher? Email is the way to start
Ask any teacher, an email is the best way to start a conversation.
Notes and phone messages to teachers are fading as the preferred method of communication between parents and teachers. To balance everyone's busy schedules an email is the place to ask your child's teacher a question. Teacher's email addresses are available at the school's website or from your child's syllabus. A quick phone call to the school can get you that information as well.
At back-to-school nights, you will be told over and over again that email is the best way to reach a teacher. This is especially with high school teachers who may have five classes of 25 students each and might be in a different classroom from period to period. Usually the teacher will request your email as well; make sure it is one you check often.
You may prefer a phone call or in-person meeting. Teachers still spend plenty of time using these time-honored methods of communication, but the initial contact should be via email requesting a meeting or phone call. Often your email will be answered with a phone call but by sending an email first the teacher has the chance to do the research on your question to be prepared to get you the answer you need and they can reach you when they have the time to give you their full attention.
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Some advice on sending email to your child's teacher.
- Be calm, if your child is having difficulty or has a complaint it is easy to get emotional. This is where seeing your words on a screen gives you a chance to read back what you've written to make sure you are taking a civil tone in your words.
- Make sure you introduce yourself properly. Many students have different last names from their parents or you may have a common last name. Start of with, "Hi, I am the parent of Jim Davis in your 5th period Biology class."
- Give the teacher the best time to reach you and your contact information. This helps to avoid missed connections. Maybe offer your cell phone number instead of just your home or office phone number.
All of the county schools' websites are listed at http://pwcs.edu/schools/schooldirectory/.
