Parent-Teacher Communication Using Facebook

Four years ago I started using Facebook as my main form of communicating to parents about what was happening in our classroom on a daily basis. My main reason for doing this was the amount of time it was taking to do weekly newsletters that were mostly likely lost in the paper shuffle or being thrown away. I thought that since I am on Facebook daily in my personal life, why not make daily posts about my classroom too. So, I created a closed Facebook group designated for my classroom.

I completely agree with Education World (2017), when they say that since many parents are already on Facebook so why not use a platform they are familiar with. There are so many opportunities for positive communication using Facebook. Teachers can post about upcoming events, school closings, and student work, just to name a few. Education World (2017) also gives teachers who are interested in this venture some ideas to keep in mind....

• Be professional.

• Post only information that relates to your classroom.

• Focus on student learning.

• Include your Facebook group address in your back to school newsletter so parents know where to find you.

---

What did you do in school today ?

This age-old question has probably been asked more times than can be counted by every parent everywhere. Each morning I post our daily objectives to help parents have the conversation about what happened in school. I also post pictures and videos of student work and students completing their work throughout each day. My students love to have their picture taken knowing I will post it for their parents to see.

Other things I post are...

• post upcoming classroom, school, and district events

• uploaded files for parents to always have access to

• post live videos showing parents and reminding students of how to do homework

• post any reminders that I want parents to remember

• create events, such as Back to School Night or Parent Visitation, so I know how many people to expect

Every once in a while I also like to survey my students' parents to get an idea of how often they are using our Facebook page, if they find it helpful, what they like most, and what they would like me to think about including to make it better. If you're on the fence about creating a classroom Facebook page, click here to see how my classroom parents have responded and you just might want to give it a try!

---

This video from teachers in Pasco County Schools, Florida (2014), put into words exactly what I would say about having a classroom Facebook page.

#Parentteachercommunication