Caleb Hatfield
Teacher, Mentor, Leader
Artifact 1: MS Youtube Account
One way that I have chosen to communicate more clearly with students, teachers, parents, and the school community at large is to take our morning announcements online to Youtube. By hosting our announcements online, it provides everyone with the same message and prevents mixed messages from being shared. Additionally, by allowing the entire school community to have access to the morning announcements, there is a greater sense of togetherness. Communication isn't simply for the students but also for parents and teachers. This provides greater collaboration between each vested party and a stronger school community.
Artifact 2: Parent Newsletter
At the beginning of every week, a digital newsletter goes home to every middle school parent at AIS. Each grade level creates its own newsletter with important highlights from each classroom teacher within that grade level. As an 8th grade teacher, I would help to create this weekly newsletter to communicate with our parents. The newsletter is another means of relaying clear expectations between the classroom and home. It gives parents a sense of involvement in what is happening in their child's schooling. Additionally, it provides parents with the opportunity to give their own feedback by emailing any of their children's teacher.
Artifact 3: Parent Conferences
As the current middle school assistant principal, a less glamorous part of my job is to maintain student behavior on a school wide basis. This means communicating directly with parents in regards to their children's behavior. One such way that I do this is by requesting meetings with them. The meeting request template to the right is one example of how I communicate with parents. This means of collaborating with parents provides me the opportunity to establish a sense of a understanding with the parents and to work alongside of them to support their child's behavioral needs. Also, an in person meeting, as opposed to an email or phone call, allows me to gain a better understanding of the families background and history.
A school community is made up of a wide range of stakeholders whom seek to be recognized and supported. The role of a teacher leader is to help bridge the gap between each group and create a larger sense of partnership aimed at supporting student learning.