Opening Up Communication with Parents

I found this article very interesting. The Buckman Arts Magnet Elementary School is trying to move towards paperless communication with parents by using a more interactive website with blogs. Because not every family has Internet at home they are setting up Internet kiosks at school for parents to use. They are not stopping the paper completely of course because access is critical. I think that this is the wave of the future.

One of the added benefits I see to things like this (and the article doesn’t talk about it) is that it can also be very helpful to non-custodial parents. If you think about it you will realize that if kids are living in one home the parent who doesn’t live with the child has to be completely dependent on an ex-spouse out the fickle memories and priorities of their child to let them know what is going on in school. Having a lot more and more current information on a school web site allows non-custodial parents to keep more in touch and be more involved and informed. I think that in most cases this can be a huge boon.

And then there are grandparents, aunts, uncles and other interested family. I also happen to think that it is good for the community at large to be aware of what is going on in their schools. Anyway, take a look at the article as it is an interesting read and maybe it will give you some ideas.

[By the way. I’m on vacation this week so this was written earlier for display later. Response to comments will be slow.]