Managing Telephone Conferences
Many schools are making it easier for teachers to be reached by phone, either by having a clear system set up with the office for getting messages, or by having a phone with voice mail in their classrooms. But managing the use of the phone so it doesn’t interrupt classroom activities or become confusing as to what calls need to be returned takes a little planning.
First, you will need to find out whether your families have a phone and if so, when and where you may contact them. As part of gathering other information about families in the early days of school, you may decide to send home a communication preference form.
Making Connections: What are your communication preferences?
Student’s Name: ______
Family Member #1: ______Relation to Student: ______
Home Phone : ______Work Phone: ______Cell Phone: ______E-mail Address (please print): ______
How would you prefer to be contacted? ___Home___Work___Cell Phone___E-Mail
When would you prefer to be contacted (days/tmes) ______
If you do not have access to phone or e-mail, how may I contact you? ______
______
Family Member #2: ______Relation to Student: ______
Home Phone : ______Work Phone: ______Cell Phone: ______E-mail Address (please print): ______
How would you prefer to be contacted? ___Home ___Work___Cell Phone___E-Mail
When would you prefer to be contacted (days/tmes) ______
If you do not have access to phone or e-mail, how may I contact you? ______
______
Below are 3 designs for telephone logs to help you organize the use of the phone to contact parents. Adapt these to your own situation. These forms may also be adapted to organize your use of e-mail (see “E-mail Messages” tool).
Telephone Callback Log
Date/Time / Call From:Regarding: / Date/Time / Call Returned
Action:
Sometimes it is helpful to set up a telephone communication agreement with parents to support a student in areas such as getting homework done, managing their behavior, or bringing materials to school. During a busy school day it can be challenging for teachers to stay on top of these agreements. A log can help you keep track of how you manage your end of the agreement. It can also help you analyze and balance out the type of communication that is taking place. Parents may want to use the form too.
Telephone Communication Agreement
Student’s Name: ______Teacher’s Name: ______Home Contact Person: ______
Best Day/Time to Call: ______
Purpose: ______
Nature of the Call
Date/Time / Good News Exchanged / Informational / Problems DiscussedSometimes teachers feel that all they do is make phone calls to parents when there are problems to discuss. By keeping a log of who they call and the types of interactions that take place, they can make conscious choices to notice and change telephone use patterns. Some teachers even set a goal of making sure they call each family with “good news” on a regular basis to offset the times when other types of calls need to be made.
Telephone Communication LogNature of the Call
Class List / Date/Time / Good News Exchanged / Informational / Problem Discussed