Parent Phone Calls: Here’s Your Script

December 7th, 2009 By: Diane Trim in Articles, Teachers' Corner

When I taught, I often dreaded the parent phone calls. I made them right away after class, with the student next to me, so I wouldn’t chicken out and put them off until, well, never.

Dreading parent phone calls is a common problem for teachers because we don’t know how the parent will react. After all, most parent phone calls deliver bad news.

Pre-work

Beginning of the year. Before making the parent phone call, I always smoothed the way. In the beginning of the year, I selected one student from every class to watch for a class period. I was looking for good things. If a student misbehaved, I’d let her in on my secret: I planned to call parents that night and I wanted to say good things about her.

After the final bell, I called parents. If I couldn’t reach them at home, I’d call them at work. Everyone likes to hear good things about their kids and few parents complained that I called to tell them nice things. It’s important to my scheme that I talked to parents in person. The personal contact smoothed the way to other possible phone calls about the student and communicated to parents that I liked their kid. Of course, the student loved it that I said nice things about her, too, so that made discipline easier as well.

Heads up. If a student’s classroom behavior merited a parent phone call, I always told the student. I also told the student that I’d be looking for something good to say about her, too. Sometimes, the student would put on her best behavior show for me for the rest of the class, which is positive, too.

Include the student. If at all possible, I made calls right after the class bell with the student at my side. I liked having the student there so she knew exactly what I was saying. I think that it reinforced the idea that she could trust me to tell her parents the truth.

The Script

TO STUDENT: What’s the best number to reach your parents? What’s your mom/dad’s name?

Dial phone

TO SPEAKER: May I speak with Mrs. Jones? *Always use courtesy titles, unless the parent has said otherwise. Don’t identify yourself as a teacher calling from the school. That’s the parent’s business, not anyone else’s.

TO PARENT: Hello, Mrs. Jones, this is Diane Trim. I’m Sammi’s English teacher. Is this a good time? *Always introduce yourself and make sure that the parent has time to talk.

TO PARENT: I have Sammi here with me, Mrs. Jones. We need to talk to you about Sammi’s behavior in class today. *Make sure you don’t show any anger or frustration.

TO PARENT: Sammi chose to curse repeatedly in class today. Swearing is not allowed in school and it disrupts class. Do you think you can help me with this problem? *Always ask for the parent’s help. You two are partners in helping students succeed.

Listen to parent.

TO PARENT: Thank you for your help. I will tell you that Sammi worked hard on her assignment in class today and apologized to me for disrupting class. *This is where you work in the positive behavior that the student showed you.

TO PARENT: I’m going to pass the phone to Sammi. I think she’d like to talk to you, but she has to go to class soon.

Pass the phone to the student.

TO PARENT: Thank you for your time today. Sammi and I will call you at the end of the week to discuss her improvement. *This is the master stroke. Sammi’s weekend will be much, much better if she plays the model student in class. Both Sammi’s mom and Sammi will be on board.

Make the follow-up positive phone call on Friday. Have the student next to you so the parent can tell the kid she’s proud of her.

Post-phone call

Document the date, time, phone number, and person you spoke to. Jot down a few words and the parent’s suggestion for helping the student behave. Write a plus or minus sign next to the call. I used to dedicate a spiral notebook for this purpose and write down all the calls I made in the book. Later, I documented the calls in our grading program under the student’s notes. If I ever had to write a referral for a student, I printed out the student’s grade sheet, which included all the parent contact I’d had.

It’s a great idea to make the Friday parent phone calls, too. Students look forward to them because it’s an opportunity to salvage their weekend plans. Parents look forward to them because they’re hoping for good news. They’re a great tool for you, too, because these phone calls are positive parent contact. The more positive parent contact, the more the parent is on board with helping you help the student succeed. Document these phone calls, too. Put a smiley face in the plus/minus column.

Do you have a parent phone call tip? Share it in the comments!