Analysis Of Effective Home-School Communication

I really like this article because the author is speaking from experience, not just from what research says. He makes some great points about why school communication matters. This article will be helpful when I am creating my communication plan because of the way it explains who should be involved in communications, and gives some ways to involve them. Weast points out that all stakeholders must be involved in communication, to build the trust needed, to create the learning environment that our students deserve, and to raise student achievement. Making sure our students have a safe environment where they feel welcomed is most important. This is a daily job that must be taken seriously. With a safe environment and positive communications, improved

Allen points out that not all communication with families will help raise student achievement. She explains that communication must be tailored to individual families for it to be effective. Allen gives guidelines to follow for effective communication. She states that family involvement should be linked to and support student learning, as well as make an effort to recognize class and cultural differences. Allen also list ways educators can change their practices to make communication more effective and gives ways to overcome obstacles that may arise when developing effective communication.

Reaction/ Opinion Working in a multi-cultural school this article meant a lot to me. Many of the ideas that Allen shared will be very useful as I create a communication plan for my school. One thing that really stood out to me was when Allen mentioned parents that may have had bad experiences at a previous school. Schools have to work hard to improve the schools image and gain the trust of those parents. I agree that not all communication is linked to improved student achievement. Schools need to evaluate current practices and make revisions where necessary. It is our job to insure effective communication with all stakeholders. Schools need to listen to families, develop relationships with them, and provide ways for them to be actively involved

The article states that many problems in schools arise because lack of communication, or how something was communicated. The author discusses in-school communication and gives suggestions to help the communication be more effective. It also suggests getting an outside source to do in-school research and report feedback. School leaders are urged to listen to the feedback and work to resolve any issues that were reported. The author also discusses how communication is two-way and many times we learn more when we listen than when we talk. Different methods of communication are discussed and how our language, mood, and actions send a very clear message to those we come in contact with daily. The author gives suggestions to make the most of each communication opportunity that we