Three Promising Ways to Connect with ML Families during Back to School

As the start of the school year rolls around, it’s time to start thinking of how we as teachers can connect with multilingual families. the United States, the school system expects families to be involved in their student’s education. Their involvement typically leads to better academic success.  Henderson and Mapp state that “students whose parents are involved in their schooling are more likely to have higher grades and test scores, attend school regularly, have better social skills, show improved behavior, and adapt well to school.” Who wouldn’t want that from their students?! Click here to read more about “What Research Says About Parent Involvement”. So much good info on connecting with families!

Understanding Our Multilingual Families

When teaching students with diverse backgrounds, it’s essential to understand that the families we work with may not always have the same school and family involvement expectations. When I was in school, I remember the communication piece between my father and school was good, but with my mom? Not so much because the information wasn’t relayed to her in her native language. My mom says she could understand it…but it was only to a certain extent. I now wonder how much extra help and support I (and my mom really) could have gotten if that communication piece of expectations wasn’t missing.

Having different expectations is totally okay and what we are here for! As teachers of diverse learners, we must not only make clear our expectations in the classroom but our expectations for family involvement. This upcoming school year communication is becoming one of my top priorities.

Here are three ways to connect with your ML families at the start of the school year to support the school and family relationships I have used in the past. I am excited to add more this year!

Connect with ML Families Way #1: Family Homework

This is by far my FAVORITE way to connect with families and it’s so simple! The task is for a family member to write a letter of introduction to their student. It is also fun to bug that families about how they need to complete the homework. 😛

I have had families tell me that they truly enjoyed completing this “homework”. What do you do? Here is the last line of them I got last year! “Thank you for your time and the opportunity to introduce you to my sweet girl.”

Since we are working with language learners, what happens when the family uses another language or cannot read and write? That’s okay! For families that can write in another language, have them do it anyway! You can try to use Google Translate OR have your student do the translating. I usually am not for students translating for their own families, but this task is low stakes.

For families that can’t read or write, they should totally still participate! Having them record a video is a great alternative and again, you can have the student translate. You could even find an interpreter (my district has a list of those available) and have them do a call for you. 

Go ahead and try the family homework letter! I have created one for you that you can edit in your name and due dates. It’s also in Spanish. ;)

Click here for the FREEBIE!

Connect with ML Families Way #2: Survey the Best Way to Communicate

This is great for all families, not just multilingual families. I like to survey my families to see which form of communication is best for them. Email, text, phone call, paper? Some prefer emails, others text, and very few, the old-school phone calls. (I personally would love texts.)  

If the communication needed is for small reminders or compliments, emails or text could easily do the trick!

A serious message? Pick up that phone! 

This is also a great time to see what language is preferred in the household. Yes, yes it probably is in your school’s systems. However, I have had instances where the language hasn’t been updated or a parent has learned English and is totally comfortable using that language as means of communication. 

Connect with ML Families Way # 3: TalkingPoints

I am sometimes intimidated by calling my student’s families because I am afraid of misunderstanding due to language. I have also had issues with not being able to secure an interpreter.  Soooo…what do I do then?! This is one of the BIGGEST barriers in family communication between school and home. Many teachers I’ve spoken to often say they have tried communicating and once that language barrier hits, they tend to give up. There are solutions to this problem that must be shared!

Lucky for us, the internet has so many resources. I have started using TalkingPoints to TEXT parents in THEIR LANGUAGE. Heck yes! Have you used the Remind App? It’s very similar, but with the language translation added in. The translations aren’t always perfect, but they are super close. They have over 100 languages, plus the communication is two-way. This means parents can reply to you and it is translated. So. Freaking. Cool. 

P.S.it’s freeeee! Check out this blog post from Empowering ELLs for more info about TalkingPoints if you’re not convinced yet! 🙂

Recap on Connecting with ML Families

This initial contact with families at the start of the school year is so very valuable. Families will feel welcomed and acknowledged. They will also feel respected as you recognize them as being the expert on their child. In my personal case, as I shared above, the related information that is fully understood by the family is so important. Once you’ve got an established connection, this blog post about Strengthen School-Home Communication: will be helpful! These three promising ways to connect with ML families are easy to begin with and will give your families a great start to the school year.