Communicate 1 - Communication Guidelines

Create: Reflect on the needs for your individual Communication Plan. Then, construct a general outline.

Welcome email

• Will post to LMS (Google Classroom) and email to all students/parents once enrolled (recipients BCC'd)
• Will include course expectations and outcomes, general details on how class will run, expectations on number of required synchronous sessions per unit/term, and a Google Form to collect student/parent contact preferences.
• Will include a message about our first synchronous session, which will be a Welcome Session in which we address the syllabus, course outcomes, and communication expectations
• Will include my contact information: email, school phone, personal Google Voice help line, Twitter, Remind messaging codes.

Personal notes versus mass communication to stakeholders
Mass communications to students and parents will be shared via Google Classroom announcements and Remind messages. Students and parents enrolled in these tools may set their preferences on notifications (see "Tools" below)


Individual communications will be delivered by phone or email. 

• Questions concerning scores or overall grades will not be communicated by email (FERPA). All grading information is posted for student/parent review in the SIS (PowerSchool) and questions about this should be addressed by phone.

• Students will receive individualized feedback posted on their assignments and during weekly check-in. Questions beyond this should be addressed by phone or email.

• "Office hours" will be established based on the teacher's course load. These will be shared with stakeholders at the beginning of the term in the Welcome Email, Welcome Session, syllabus, and LMS.

• While emails may be sent any time, phone calls will only be placed/accepted during office hours. If either party is unavailable, the caller is expected to leave a voicemail. Messages should include caller's name, student first name only, and a callback number.

• Emails and voicemails requiring a response should be addressed within 1 business day.

School policies regarding communication

• Grades will be updated weekly in PowerSchool.

• Emails regarding students will special needs should CC the student's caseload manager as appropriate. Emails regarding academic progress, disciplinary issues, etc should CC the appropriate administrator.

• Parent/student contacts will be documented in a Google Form. This includes date/time, student name, person contacted, means of contact (phone, email, etc), and a comment on the nature of the contact. Google Form compiles all contacts as a spreadsheet.

• The corresponding Google spreadsheet of will be uploaded to the secure teacher evaluation platform for administrator review as needed.

Tools available for effective communication

• Google Classroom - Our LMS utilizes 3 types of posts: assignments, announcements, and questions. Students may also post Class Comments (visible to everyone) or Private Comments (viewable by teacher only) on an assignment, announcement, or question. Notification preferences may be set by individual users:
• Push notifications with smartphone or tablet app
• Email notification
• PARENTS: Opt-in to receive summary emails (weekly or monthly) that contains all updates posted to classroom as well as a summary of students work (completed, graded, missing, etc).

• Remind - Students and parents are encouraged to enroll in the course Remind group. Again, notification preferences may be set by individual users:
• SMS message
• Email
• Push notifications with smartphone or tablet app

• Google Voice - Phone system with call, voicemail, and text messaging features. Teacher will use this system rather than giving out a personal cell phone number. All voicemails, text messages, and a call log are accessible in the teacher's school Google account.

• Google Hangouts - Both the teacher and all students will have access to Google Hangouts through their school-assigned Google account. This virtual conferencing tool will allow students to communicate with teachers, classmates, etc. This tool may be more helpful than a phone call or email when "face-to-face" instruction is needed. As described in this previous post, Google Hangouts on Air will be utilized for all synchronous sessions as they are broadcast live and then archived to YouTube later.