Promote Active Compassion: Enhance Participation & Presence
In a recent webinar, educators were advised to embrace change and implement a simple process to improve parent engagement, with a focus on building authentic, reciprocal relationships that foster clear, two-way communication and shared collaboration with families. This approach, known as the "caring conversations" process, emphasises intentional, respectful, two-way communication; mutual trust and shared agreements; cultural responsiveness; and positioning families as equal partners.
The first step in this process is to learn something positive about a student's talents or skills before initiating communication. This proactive and personal approach sets a positive tone for the interaction and helps to build trust. The second step is to share this positive information with the family early in the conversation, reinforcing the school's interest in the student's success and demonstrating a genuine concern.
ClassDojo, a popular educational platform, can help drive deeper family engagement in schools. ClassDojo for Districts offers a communication platform that facilitates streamlined family communication, two-way interaction, data and analytics, cultural responsiveness, and community building. The platform allows districts, schools, and teachers to communicate with families in one place, and its features for translation and multimedia sharing help affirm diverse cultural identities and preferences.
One of the key benefits of ClassDojo for Districts is its ability to scale the caring conversations model district-wide, creating a scalable, cost-effective engagement strategy. The platform's automated and personalized messaging caters to families’ preferred languages and methods, supporting timely information flow without additional staffing costs. District leaders can monitor family engagement metrics across schools, identifying gaps and tailoring supports systematically.
When dealing with challenging situations, such as angry parents, it's good practice to let them vent, acknowledge their feelings, and offer to continue the conversation at a better time or transfer them to someone who can help. ClassDojo also offers a feature for high school mode to address the unique communication needs of older students.
The caring conversations model does not require additional budget because it focuses on intentional relationship-building practices, respectful communication, and leveraging existing interactions more effectively rather than investing in costly programs or materials. By recognising and affirming cultural and linguistic diversity, celebrating strengths, creating shared agreements and partnerships, and positioning parents as experts and partners, schools can improve interactions with families and address attendance challenges.
In summary, the five-step caring conversations process is a valuable tool for educators seeking to improve interactions with families and address attendance challenges. By implementing this approach and leveraging ClassDojo for Districts, schools can create a culture of meaningful family connections that supports student success.
For more tools and ideas to transform education, subscribe to Tech & Learning's newsletter. The webinar, sponsored by ClassDojo and hosted by Tech & Learning's Content and Brand Director Christine Weiser, is available on demand for those who missed it.
- Teachers can use the ClassDojo platform to initiate a positive conversation with students, promoting personal growth and self-development, by learning something positive about their talents or skills before communicating.
- To further enhance this relationship with families, teachers can share this positive information with the family, demonstrating their interest in the student's success and fostering a culture of collaboration and shared education-and-self-development.
- ClassDojo's district-wide platform, ClassDojo for Districts, enables schools to implement the caring conversations model at scale, addressing attendance challenges and facilitating closer connections between schools, families, and students, promoting overall personal growth and student success.
