Parent Communication Plan

Part A: Communication
Initial:
My first initial reach out to parents will include a letter home from students that
includes both my class disclosure statement, contact information, and a worksheet
that requires parents and students to fill in crucial contact information such as cell
phone number, work hours, or preferable times to reach parents, email addresses, and
the students living situation. It may also be a good idea to ask, but not, of course,
require a home address and the number of the students cell phone. My email, prep
periods, and class website will also be included.
My disclosure statement will include my rationale for my classroom structure (writing
workshop, for example). Explaining how the class abides to the Common Core
Standards will also be included. A general overview of what the Common Core is may
also be appropriate. An initial phone call home to parents will also be made during the
first two weeks with a detailed and positive message for the parent.
Ongoing:
School Calendar: I love schools that send home school calendars with activities,
programs, and events. My parents absolutely used this. This is a good way to
include whole school events, programs, and activities.
Class Website: Having my own class website that includes a class calendar of
due dates, major projects, weekly, routine assignments (such as reading nights,
etc.) will be constructed and utilized. It could be an appropriate idea to also
state my information on my website and in newsletters in Spanish, where I will
be a Language Arts teacher, after all and have a student in Spanish class type it
out.
Newsletter: For parents that do not have access to media and online
communications a newsletter will be sent home monthly with the same
information.
Progress Portfolio: In my class I plan on using portfolios that track changes and
rough draft revisions as my summative assessment for writing papers. Having
these sent home monthly and shared and used at conferences will be
interwoven into my parent communication methods. Students will be required to
write a reflection about the sharing that they did and may be required to think of
questions to ask their guardians concerning their work; for example, What part
of your narrative did your guardian personally connect with or find
interesting/amusing/satisfactory?
Parent-teacher conferences: Dates will be sent home and a one-on-one
conference with each parent at least once a year will be highly recommended
and/or encouraged.
Emails: For parents that may not be able to make conferences, email and phone
will be made options.
Mid-term survey: At midterm of every semester a survey will go home merely
asking for parents feedback, questions, or area of concern.
Student Concerns/Issues:

Parents will be informed in my disclosure statement that they can request updated
grades from me at any point in time. Students and parents alike can track their
progress through my usage of summative portfolios. The rough drafts will be kept in
vanilla folders until the completion of the binder portfolio. These can be taken home
and returned by the student. Rough drafts and edits will be required to be placed and
tracked in these folders that will also have the assignments rubric.
I will contact parents if I feel that an area of concern needs to be discussed. I will
utilize either email or phone calls to address such issues. I plan on also utilizing
periodical one-on-one conferences or check-ins with my students around their work
and about their social lives. Using writing workshops or reading workshops affords a
teacher some of this time and space, being that students work during these periods
and give peer feedback so the teacher can conduct such check-ins. These would be
good times to possibly, appropriately probe into matters I may deem important (if the
situation isnt too serious). Conferences that may be more interventional and urgent
will need to be set up between the parent, myself, and likely and administrative
member or third party. These and parent-teacher conferences should be well prepared
with a positive greeting, grades, class work, test results, and a solution plan that can
be flexible and include the guardians suggestions.
Engaging Families:
I like the idea of sending home a couple homework assignments a month that requires
interaction between the students and guardians. Whether this happens via edit
requests, an interview, etc. Doing a guardian/mentor book share would be a good
home assignment and connector. I would like to have some parents come into the
classroom and do 21st Century Writing and Reading Relevancy Talks where some
parents with different professions could discuss how they are using reading and writing
skills on the job. This could also be done at home in an interview with the student.
Having school events, PTA groups, and volunteer events that parents are aware of
through newsletters and calendars will help keep the family engaged, hopefully,
likewise. I also plan on doing an Appreciation or Pay It Forward assignment where
the student will be assigned to inform an individual in their life of the ways that they
have positively contributed to their own life or inform them about reason they
appreciate that individual through writing. These assignments engage the student with
writing and life.
My Communication Calendar:
First Week: Disclosure statement and contact information exchange worksheet
First Two Weeks: Positive phone call home
Weekly: Updated grades readily available for parents and students at their request
Monthly: Hard Copy Newsletter with class calendar and major events and
assignments and progress folders sent home for parent-student sharing and reflection.
Mid-term: Sent home survey. Simply a slip allowing for questions, feedback, and
suggestions that the student can return to me.
Semester: Parent-Teacher Conferences

Part B: Disclosure Statement

Language Arts with Ms. Phillips
Grade 10
Hello!
I am elated that the year is beginning and I will be teaching
your student. I have created this document to a.) Inform you
about some Common Core Standards that will assist
directing my classroom content, b.) My contact information
c.) Some important points about my teaching philosophy and
practices.
Language Arts 10th Grade Common Core Standards:
Common Core Standards are shared objectives, goals, and skill that student need in
particular content areas that teachers are required to cover in the duration of a year
per grade level. These standards and guide instruction and pertain to the following:
reading literature, reading informational texts, writing, speaking and listening, and
language. By grade 12 students are expected to be reading 30% literary material and
70% informational texts in the classroom.
For more information about Common Core Standards please visit corestandards.org.
My assignments standard and objective will be shared preceding my lessons.
Philosophy and Practices:
My teaching philosophy renders that students should be able to engage with
texts and in writing in a safe environment where they are both comforted and
challenged. I believe that students should be afforded the time to practice reading and
writing skills in writing and workshop structures. These work-shops, quite literally are
best practice because they allow students to actually work on skills by practicing these
skills frequently and for extended amounts of time. These work-shops focus on
developing more self-reliant learners that receive all teacher and peer feedback and
builds community and allows for constant self-reflection and almost daily development
of such skills. Mini-lessons that are given with brevity and focus precede these
workshops so that students can immediately practice interweaving these strategies
into their personal work. Such workshops would include how to correctly add commas

in their work, how to lure in a reader, how to describe characters, how to choose a
book in their reading range, how to visualize while they read, etc.
My philosophy is that students are the most important text in the classroom and
that they should bring their unique experiences and prior knowledge to their reading
and writing practices. Students should have the support and freedom to create their
own meaning from texts and through writing. They will not merely learn to write in my
classroom, they will learn through writing. They will read about writing and write about
their reading so that the will have a variety of literacy skills they can use in society or
their possible higher education institutes. Students construct their own powerful
meanings, interests, and writing/reading processes in my classroom. Students will be
assessed by progress portfolios where they (and you) can track their growth, learn
about organization, learn about the importance of working through difficulties or
obstacles, learn about perseverance, have a chance to correct mistakes, and become
confident learners. Mistakes are not bad, quitting is. My classroom develops stamina
and effort that encourages growth. Students will write during these workshops in a
writing notebook that will hold their practiced skills (brainstorming, drafting, editing,
and notes) and (one and the same) a space for ideas that can become their larger
papers for the portfolio.

Structure:
20 minutes twice a week will be reserved for reading workshops in my
classroom.
3 days will be reserved for writing workshops, including mini-lesson, feedback,
and sharing.
Additional time for groups activities and class discussion and possible additional
lessons as needed by my observations and assessments.
Homework:
Will be given as I feel needed and will concern extending class content that
connects the classroom to their lives or work that hasnt been finished during
class time.
Student will be required to complete a minimum of one work of writing each
week: a poem, memoir, essay or report.
One reading response is due each week.
2 full pages of writing in their writing notebooks as provided by myself. Students
will have writing time 3 days a week and usually will have no problem
completing that task; however what is not completed during class work time will
be home work.
Again, I am very excited to kick off the year and grow with your unique and awesome
student. Please contact me with any questions, concerns and suggestions you may
have. Your support and cooperation in our students learning is valuable and
important! Love and learning breed life.
Contact Information:
Work Phone: (406) 544-2917
Email: danielle.phillips3@msu.montana.edu

Class Website: dphillips_languagearts@weebly.com