Effective Two-Way Communication Strategies for Student Success Post-Pandemic

by Maria Ishaq Khan

Even after two years of pandemic disruptions and all the lessons learned throughout, the 2021-22 school year has been off to a rocky start with the delta variant casting a dark shadow on reopening plans. Already, several districts have classrooms quarantining and shifting to remote instruction after possible exposures.

Consequently, educators have had an additional responsibility to balance the need to facilitate student engagement while creating safe learning environments for all students. All of this has made communities more vulnerable than ever before.

Mask mandates, vaccine mandates, school staff shortages, difficulties with school meal distribution, and bus-driver shortages, among numerous other challenges, have further exacerbated the unprecedented challenges that school districts are facing across the country. One underestimated challenge, namely the communication breakdowns between school staff and parents and families, is rising to the top of issues needing to be addressed.

Highlighting Parents’ Voices during the Pandemic

As a new member of the NYKids team and a parent of a school-age child myself, I wanted to gain insights into how parents are experiencing these uncertain times.

I asked some parents (names and identities are being kept confidential to respect the privacy of students and parents) in a local school district how they were feeling as we began our third week of school. Several parents shared that they had not spoken to their classroom teacher yet. One parent said:

“This is the first year my child is in school (in-person). I do not know where her classroom is, what she does at school, or who her teacher is. I am scared. It’s been almost three weeks into the school year, but I still have not had a conversation with the teacher.” 

Another parent shared how they were unable to track the school bus and despite several phone calls to the school and transportation company, they were left not knowing where the child was. This parent further explained:

“I have not even spoken to the teacher about academics because every day I just stress about the bus being late or my child not being able to get tracked on the bus. This should not have been this stressful.”

Teachers’ and School Leaders’ Experiences

Teachers and principals are also experiencing stress. In the absence of teaching aides and lunch aides, teachers have to do additional supervision of students during times typically reserved for teaching and learning.

A teacher shared that she does not have any lunch aide and spent the first 20 minutes of her first two days opening milk cartons for her elementary school students. Another teacher shared that differentiated teaching would be difficult in a class of 18 students and the absence of any teaching aide.

Effective Strategies for Educators to Communicate with Families

In just under three weeks, we all have been reminded of how important two-way communications between school staffs and parents and families can be.

In a previous NYKids blog, we discussed research on the importance of using effective communication strategies and offered recommendations for improved communication strategies including determining preferred methods of communication as well as setting up periodic meetings. Effective communications can be enhanced by establishing clear and reliable lines of communication and closing communication gaps

• Using preemptive and contingency-oriented messages to get ahead of potential misunderstandings
• Using quick, real-time communications when situations and changes arise
• Using electronic and social media to save time in spreading the word (Text message, Email, ClassDojo, SeeSaw, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter)
• Clearly identifying the problem and indicating what will be done to address it
• Adding a personalized touch and being informed by those closest to the problems at hand
• Being innovative with sharing images of classrooms with parents when parents cannot physically come to schools

To find more strategies on school-family communications, as well as supporting educators through the pandemic, visit NYKids’ resources page. And, as always reach out to nykids@albany.edu for your improvement and research partnership needs.