Effective Engagement

Effective engagement is a positive working relationship between the parents or guardians with teachers, administrators, and other members of the school district. This allows all parties to be involved and make good decisions for the student. This engagement requires good communication skills. Good communication is practiced through speaking, writing and listening.

Good communication through speaking requires the speaker to use words that the audience will understand, to know the needs and interests of the audience, to know what will keep their attention and interest, and know what motivates the audience. It is not appropriate to speak poorly about coworkers or students, and teachers cannot reveal confidential work-related information or students

When writing, it is important to pay attention to tone; the writing may come across in a manner other than what the writer had intended. Writing needs to be effectively organized, main points need to be stated clearly and long sections should be divided into separate paragraphs. Poor spelling often keeps many individuals from getting jobs; errors may change the meaning of the writing. Any form of written communication needs to be written in a professional manner, as it represents the writer as a person, and with the knowledge that whatever is written is permanent. Teachers could be emailing the parents of their students or writing notes home. They need to be mindful of the tone in their writing while keeping it organized and free from errors that could change the meaning of their

Research shows that when schools, families and communities get involved and work with one another, students will benefit. Those partnerships between schools, families and communities help to create safer school environments, encourages community service, improves the academic skills of students as well as achieving other goals for the students, and can strengthen parenting skills. With more communication and and teamwork, both sides gain more support. Since the community financially supports the schools through their taxes, they have the right to know what is happening in the schools. When schools communicate with the families of students and the community as a whole, it is important that they do so respectfully while keeping in mind that the community is culturally diverse; not everyone is the