Engaging Parents of English Language Learners

The secret to student success wasn’t in my lesson plan—it was in their living room. For too long, we’ve treated MLL families like barriers. Language. Work schedules. Immigration status. But here’s the truth: Families aren’t the problem. They’re the power behind student progress. Research shows family engagement can double academic success rates for MLLs (Henderson & Mapp, 2002; ESSA, 2015). When we: • Make space for home languages, • Invite families in as co-educators, • And listen—really listen—to their stories, students don’t just learn… ✨THEY THRIVE✨ Want to boost MLL success? Start by ringing the doorbell, not just raising the rigor. #MLLs #FamilyEngagement #LanguageJustice #MultilingualMatters #EdEquity #BilingualEducation #CommunityPower

Why hiring star teachers 𝘪𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘳 to your parent engagement challenges. And why clear communication, consistent messaging, and a space for honest conversations 𝘪𝘴. Story time... I was in my late 20s, late September, leading a team of 6 teachers at a well-resourced school. There was a knock on my classroom door. “𝗬𝗼𝘂’𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗴𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀,” my boss said, “but the parents aren’t happy.” I blinked. Not mine, surely. I had already built strong relationships with families. “Other classrooms’ parents. They’re saying it’s not fair that two of our strongest teachers are paired. We've got to split you up.” 𝗜 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗱. “You want me to leave the students and families now?” “This isn’t exactly a choice.” But to me…it had to be. 𝗕𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗮𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗳𝗶𝘅𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺. 𝗜𝘁 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗮𝗱𝗱𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺. One that wouldn’t be solved by shuffling teachers like chess pieces. The real issue? Parents had questions.  They wanted transparency.  And they needed reassurance that their kids were getting the same quality of experience. Instead of caving to surface-level demands,  I proposed something else: a roundtable conversation with parents.  Here’s what we did: 1) LISTENED. I invited parents to share their concerns - no defensiveness. 2) VALIDATED. Of course, they had big feelings. Their children are their world. 3) CONNECTED. We aligned around our shared goal: student success and wellbeing. 4) GOT TRANSPARENT. I shared how planning happened collaboratively across classrooms. Instructional quality wasn’t a one-room wonder. It was a team effort. 5) ASKED. What would help them feel heard and confident in our program? 6) RESPONDED. My team got creative and consistent in how we communicated and delivered. 7) FOLLOWED UP. The thank-you emails and student growth said it all. In the end? My team morale stayed intact, parents were extremely satisfied, and kids didn't suffer because of adult anxiety. — School principals and leaders: I get it. Opening the door to parent concerns can feel intimidating. And sidestepping tricky conversations may temporarily feel easiest. But what if we started asking:  • Are our communication practices clear, regular, and two-way?  • Are we inviting parent voices, not just their attendance at events?  • Do we inadvertently create competition among parents by championing select staff? When 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘶𝘱𝘱𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥, teachers are aligned, families are heard and respected,  and we all serve students better. Because the goal isn’t to silence the squeaky wheels. It’s to build relationships where nobody has to squeak to be heard. 𝗬𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗻... 💬 Have you ever seen “star teacher culture” cause more harm than good? Or... Do you have a story about a surprising parent or teacher conversation that changed perspectives and results? Let’s hear it.

☎️ Make the call. I used to coach teachers on communication strategies with parents/guardians and it has been one of the most transferable experiences I’ve taken with me into a career in logistics sales. Back then, I used to think: • Why is it so difficult for teachers to pick up the phone and call a parent/guardian? • Why do teachers resort to behind-the-screen messaging (i.e. classroom app messages or email)? • Why are teachers worried about negative results from parental/guardian outreach? What I learned: ▪️Teachers were communicating with a reactive strategy and not being proactive. ▪️Teachers were only communicating with parents/guardians when their child was underperforming or in trouble. ▪️Teachers were only communicating when they needed something. This behavior created a cloud of negative energy and anxiety amongst many teachers due to the nature of the messages they were sending or responding to. So, how did I propose we shift this negative energy into something positive? ⭐️ Call parents/guardians just to make a brief introduction and inquire about their child’s interests - no strings attached. ⭐️ Call parents/guardians just to express how much you enjoy their child being in their class and share something specific they did or said that was positive that day. ⭐️ Call parents/guardians to share information about upcoming activities, lessons, or events that their child will be asked to participate in. By being proactive in making genuine positive engagement on the front end, teachers build authentic relationships with parents/guardians leading to less anxiety and negative outcomes when they have to make future calls that carry the weight of negative news, concerns, or an ask. The same goes for how we choose to communicate with our clients. #communicationstrategies #coldcall #relationshipbuilding #womeninlogistics #womeninsupplychain