Plan for Family Communication

Artifact 5.2
 Teaching Scenario

One major goal I have as a teacher is to connect not only with my

students, but also with their families. I know the students at
Edgewood Elementary come from very diverse family backgrounds,
and the students in the second grade class I was placed in are no
different. Though this did not happen the way that I had intended, I
had planned to connect with families in multiple ways in order to
better support the students in my placement.

2
 ClassDojo
As I proceeded to assume full
teaching responsibility in the
classroom, I planned to also assume
communication responsibilities with
families through ClassDojo. I had
already made an account and had
access to the classroom, but the plan
was also to eventually communicate
with families to discuss student
progress as well as concerns.

3
 Weekly Newsletter
In addition to using ClassDojo to communicate
with students’ families, I also discussed with
my cooperating teacher sending out a weekly
newsletter in each student’s folder. This way,
parents could receive a hard-copy of important
updates as well as electronically. The students
at Edgewood also do not all have internet
access at home, so the paper newsletter
allows families to still be involved in their
students’ education while also eliminating
barriers.

4
 “Literacy Night” Event
There was a “Literacy Night” for students
and their families scheduled for later date
in the semester that I had planned on
attending in addition to the rest of the
school staff. This event was not only a
way to encourage reading in students,
but was also going to be an opportunity
for me to connect with families face-to-
face rather than digitally through
ClassDojo or through a paper newsletter.

5
 “Carnival” Event
There was also a “Carnival” event
for students and their families
scheduled for later in the semester,
one that I had also planned on
attending. Again, this event would
have been an opportunity to
connect with families in person
while also continuing to build
relationships with students.

6
 Rationale
No matter what method, communication with students’ families is key in
students’ success; I wanted to communicate with families for classroom
contexts, as well as participate in opportunities to build relationships with
families in order to help my students be more successful (5.6, 5.8). Using
not only something electronic like ClassDojo but also methods such as a
paper newsletter and face-to-face communication helps to eliminate
technological barriers and allows all families to participate in communication
(5.7). By planning to attend the “Literacy Night” and “Carnival” events, I
wanted to serve and engage not only with students and their families, but
the larger Edgewood community as a whole (5.3). Overall, I wanted to
establish as much positive communication as I could with my students’
families (5.1).

7
 Domain Indicators
• 5.1 The candidate communicates with colleagues, students, families, and
community members responsively; tone, body language, and wording are
appropriate to the situation and put others at ease.
• 5.3 The candidate approaches his or her educational environment with
professional care and views his or her work primarily as service to students,
families, and the community.
• 5.6 The candidate fosters collaborative relationships with families and professional
stakeholders to support students’ learning and well-being.
• 5.7 The candidate identifies possible barriers to accessing technology and other
resources; the candidate takes steps to increase equitable access for all
students.
• 5.8 The candidate applies appropriate humility to his or her professional practice;
he or she communicates and collaborates with all stakeholders, including
families and the community, to inform educational practice and to create
meaningful learning experiences. (I-10, IDS 6)