There is no doubt that you have spent endless hours diligently working on your classroom decorating to a theme, adding color to welcome students, lesson plans are done for the week, papers ran off for the first day of school, and you’re ready to go.  Your desk is even clean!

I ask you, “How much time have you spent getting to KNOW your students prior to them entering the classroom? Are you aware of their family backgrounds? Single parent household, blended family, grandparents raising grandchildren, same sex parents? Which students are on a 504 Plan or IEP? Have you read over their education plans and are fully ready to implement accommodations before they enter the door? 

So much of the time we spend endless hours working on the “outside” that we forget what is truly important. There will be students of all diverse backgrounds walking through those doors. For some, your classroom is a “safe haven”. Others are dreading repeating the negative school experience all over again. Then, there are those students who study hard and have a lot of friends.  

Most of the time, we form our own opinions about students before we take the time to know them, or maybe other teachers have discussed with you how they feel about students.  However, every student is diverse and deserves to be treated fairly.  

So much of the time, these same thoughts and perceptions are directed towards parents as well. Do you tend to draw back when a parent approaches you with a negative comment or sends a harsh email, or do you take a step back to put yourself in their shoes? 

At the beginning of the school year, I would show all of my students they have a clean slate, it is a matter of what they want to do with it. If you got into trouble last year, erased. Didn’t try your best, erased. I want them to know this is a new beginning and anything is possible with a positive mindset. 

Knowing how to effectively work with students and parents all boils down to one thing, COMMUNICATION. 

VLR knows this is not an easy task by any means but being prepared is key . That is why we designed the module “Get To Know Me Because I’m Really Worth It!” 

This module shows teachers an organized plan with supporting handouts on how to effectively communicate with all types of students and parents. You will learn several ways to start the process of knowing students’ individual differences, both school and home related. By truly getting to know parents, they will feel welcomed and valued to be a part of their child’s education. 

Let’s make this the BEST year yet by showing students and parents “THEY ARE REALLY WORTH IT!”