No matter how long we have been in the classroom, almost all of us feel some jitters before Meet the Teacher Night each year! However, with a little planning, you can feel confident, prep an awesome presentation, and make a great impression on your families! Read on for my tips to rock Meet the Teacher Night!
Meet the Teacher Night
Planning for Meet the Teacher Night helps set you up for a great school year! It provides an opportunity for teachers to share classroom expectations, routines, communication methods, and academic goals while building trust and positive feelings with families from day one. When you plan for the evening, make sure that you are covering important information that parents need to know. You will also want to be prepared to answer any questions that may arise. This well ensure that parents leave feeling informed and supported!
Share the Important Things
The core of your Meet the Teacher Night will most likely be a presentation for families. When planning the information you want to share, stick to the most important information that parents need to know. This might include:
-An overview of your daily schedule
-Information about student therapies
-Academic subject overviews
-How you incorporate life skills and/or social emotional learning in the classroom
-Your communication system
-Behavior interventions that you will utilize
Sharing this information gives an overview of your classrooms so that parents are informed about what their students will be doing each day!
Create Lines of Communication
It is essential that teachers and families work together to foster student success. During Meet the Teacher Night, you have the chance to set the stage for a successful partnership for the school year!
I start the night by having copies of these FREE Back to School forms at each child’s spot. I encourage parents to fill them out before we get started so that they do not get lost in the home! Having this information is so valuable for the rest of the school year. And, it creates good feelings between home and school because parents like to share info about their kids! They are the experts on their child, and we benefit from them sharing with us!
TIP: The Back to School forms are available on both Google Slides and Google Forms. I edit the Slides version by adding text boxes so that I can provide translations of the questions for families.
Another way to create communication is to use some time to help parents sign up for your communication system. For example, if you use a platform like Remind or ClassDojo, you can provide instructions on how to sign up for your classroom group. This really sets the stage for great communication for the rest of the school year!
Consider Language Accessibility for Families
An important thing to think about is making sure your presentation is accessible for all parents. For example, in my classroom I usually have a number of families who are not native English speakers. So, I make sure the text of my presentation is in both English and Portuguese so that everyone can read along.
If you have a significant number of families who are not fluent in English, it may be worthwhile to look in to whether a translator can attend your event. In my district, we have translators, including bilingual high schoolers, attend family events to help with the language barrier.
Additionally, I print out copies of my slides so parents can take them home. And, that lets me send home copies to families who weren’t able to attend!
Keep Meet the Teacher Night Friendly for Families
One thing I have learned throughout my years of teaching self-contained is to keep things family friendly! Back to School Night is often a family affair. If we want our parents to attend, we need to make sure that it is okay for the kids to come as well. Sometimes parents cannot attend if they cannot bring their children with them. That’s okay! We want to have a chance to meet and talk to our parents, so we can facilitate that by allowing the event to be open.
To do that, you can have some different quiet activities available to keep students occupied. Play dough, coloring pages, and tabletop activities are good options! If it is possible, have a helper in the room who can help supervise the kids so that their parents can focus on the information and not have to worry.
You can also get your students involved in the presentation! One way is by having the kids show their parents around the classroom. The kids can also share information about the things you are working on in the classroom! Getting them involved helps them to really own their education, and parents will really enjoy seeing their kids show what they know!
Keep the Connections Going
After Meet the Teacher Night ends, keep those lines of communication going! Back to school night helps you lay a strong foundation for family relationships. If you use a communication system (such as ClassDojo), follow up with families to make sure they are connected to your class. If you had parents fill out surveys, take the time to read the info they shared and ask any clarifying questions, if needed. And make sure to reach out to families throughout the year to share info about their child and what is going on in the classroom. Families will truly appreciate being informed!
Meet the Teacher Night might look a little bit different in our special ed classrooms, but there is no doubt that it is an awesome way to make connections with families. What ideas do you have for welcoming parents and students back to school? Share your tips below!
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