We’re full on in Fall mode, are you?

So with an autumn mood, we are delving into the importance of parent-teacher collaboration in this blog post. Special needs children thrive when the significant adults in their lives — parents, teachers, school administrators, and other family and community members — work together to empower and support them. Keep reading to find out what strategies work best for building parent-teacher ties based on respect, trust, and the shared goal of helping special ed students succeed.

How Can Teachers Improve the Collaboration

 

Be kind and sympathetic

Remember to be kind and make time to really listen to what parents have to say. After all, parents know their children and their developmental needs best. Communicate how you plan to build on their child’s strengths while still addressing areas in which the child needs additional support.

 

Be mindful of the curse of knowledge

Teachers and school administrators are often proficient in special education policies, practices, and terminology. But when you know something well, it’s hard to remember what it was like not to know it. That’s why you often make incorrect assumptions that parents understand what you’re trying to convey. Be sure to use terms that all parents understand and explain those that could be puzzling.

 

Be thoughtful with advice

Avoid sharing advice that may imply critique and starts with “You should…” or “If I were you…”. Instead, opt for suggestions like “Here are some best practices that you could consider…” or “I’ve put together resources that can help…”. Offer actionable information from several different sources and encourage the parent to be confident in making their own decisions about their child.

How Can Parents Improve the Collaboration

 

Participate in the process

As a parent, it’s important you get to know your child’s educators and stay actively involved throughout their learning journey. You can do so by engaging in your child’s IEP development and suggesting IEP content that you think would work best for your child. Datability has a neat feature that lets teachers share IEP reports with parents, allowing you to see how your child is progressing.

 

Don’t get in the way

On the other hand, it’s important not to get in the way of the teachers and school administrators doing their jobs. Don’t micromanage the process or question the qualifications of assessors and the validity of their assessments. Trust that the professionals working with your child know what to do and how to do it and act in your child’s best interest.
Read more on this below!

Role of parents in special ed

 

How Can Datability Improve the Collaboration

With Datability, teachers can keep track of each student’s goals, behaviors, and academic performance – and share the results with parents.

Datability lets teachers create clear reports that are easy to follow and share an organized full-color data report about each child’s performance. Parents can rest easy knowing that the teacher is working on the goals agreed upon.

To explore more ways in which Datability can help parents and educators collaborate, read our brochure.

Download the brochure