One thing you can do to set a positive learning environment from the outset is to communicate clearly and warmly with students and their parents. You will learn more in coming courses about building rapport with students’ families, but in this course, you have already formulated answers to many of the FAQs that parents and students will have on the first day of school.
Use the assignments you have already completed in this course to assemble a welcome letter that you can share with students and their parents or guardians on the first day of school.
Include in the letter:
A short introduction about yourself and a section that describes your overall goals for yourself and your students during the coming school year. What kind of classroom do you hope to create? When you envision this ideal classroom, what happens there?
Your classroom procedures for homework, late assignments, and retrieving work missed due to absence. If you need to make any changes to these procedures based on what you learned about FERPA in module 5, do so now.
How parents may contact you
As noted in this assignment title, this is a cumulative assignment that builds upon the knowledge and feedback you have acquired through previous work.
Requirements: 3 pages
Grading Rubric
3
Exemplary
2
Proficient
1
Emerging
0
Unsatisfactory
Comprehensiveness
The letter includes all required elements and provides students and parents with a comprehensive understanding of what to expect during the school year.
The letter includes all required elements and provides students and parents with a basic understanding of what to expect during the school year.
The letter includes all required elements.
The letter is missing one or more required elements.
The candidate has built upon previously submitted work and the class mission statement, rules and consequences, and procedures are all clear, thorough, age-appropriate, and evidence of a commitment to student learning. The candidate has considered FERPA and all classroom procedures are FERPA-compliant.
The candidate has built upon previously submitted work and the class mission statement, rules and consequences, and procedures are all complete and clear. The candidate has considered FERPA and all classroom procedures are FERPA-compliant.
The candidate has built upon previously submitted work, but there is still room for improvement in the class mission statement, rules, and consequences, or procedures.
The letter does not include improvements based on feedback of the candidate’s previously submitted work.
Parental Involvement
The letter encourages parent-teacher communication and provides multiple avenues for parents to contact the teacher. The teacher’s dedication to interacting positively with parents is conveyed in the letter.
The letter describes clear procedures for parent-teacher communication and evidence that the teacher is accessible to parents.
The letter describes procedures for parent-teacher communication, but they are unclear or the teacher is not easily accessible to parents.
The letter does not describe procedures for parent-teacher communication.
Spelling and Grammar
The work is written at a graduate level or post-graduate level. The writing is well-organized and clear.
The work contains no spelling or grammatical errors that interfere with the clarity of the work. The work is written at a graduate level.
The work contains 1-3 spelling or grammatical errors, or the writing is basic in sentence structure. The lack of proofreading or writing mastery detracts from the clarity of the work but the writer’s overall meaning is still clear.
The work contains 4 or more spelling or grammatical errors, or the work is not written at a graduate level. The lack of proofreading or writing mastery significantly interferes with the clarity of the work.
Answer preview
participation will take various forms, including attending parent-teacher meetings, school activities (class presentations, career day, plays, and tournaments), chaperoning school field trips, and any other activities communicated to parents. Parents will be informed beforehand about any school event or activity requiring their participation. Additionally, any parent wishing to communicate with me should feel free to do so. You can come to my office for an in-person meeting. If this is not possible, parents can call me via the number 1-212-456-7890 or send me an email via the address [email protected]. I take this opportunity to welcome you once
