ClassTag Connect / Jun 02, 2023
How to Empower Parents in Schools and...
If you’re researching how to empower parents in schools, we would like to take a moment to…
9 min read
We know the start of the school year can be such a stressful time for teachers, especially with all the uncertainty of going back-to-school this year. Whether you are going back face-to-face, remotely or a little bit of both, we’re here to help you go #BacktoSchoolStrong.
Ease into your new school year by connecting with your families. Back-To-School Night is the first step into a year-long relationship you are going to have with the families of your children, and connecting with ClassTag on night one will help you put your best foot forward.
Follow along and learn how ClassTag can help you host the perfect back-to-school night while reaching and connecting with EVERY parent!
Pre-load Content to Keep Parents Engaged
Parents need to see that you are committed to communication. Before you connect your families, load the content they want to see!
Create a welcome message, letting them know what to expect this year. We have some handy resources to make this step super easy, while informing your parents on what to expect (even if you’re going back virtually)! This is also a great time to setup your annual calendar of events.
Resources:
PRO-TIP: Create a welcome video introducing yourself and letting families know what to expect. Upload to ClassTag so parents get to know you as soon as they sign in!
Meet Parents Where They Are
One of the many great things about communicating with families on ClassTag is that they can choose how they receive their content, so show them that! Meet them where where they are no matter how you go back to school!
Face-to-Face Back to School Night
Print off your parent codes and have them ready. When parents enter your classroom, let them use their device to download ClassTag and get them connected right there. Show parents how to check ClassTag announcements through the site, email, texts, or push notifications. Parents will be more eager to interact with the system if it’s on their terms, so show them how to make their ClassTag unique to the needs of their family.
We have some handy shareables to make this super easy:
Remote Back-to-School Night
While hosting a back-to-school night virtually may not feel the same, it can still be fun! You’ll have to meet parents where they are and get them familiar with ClassTag from the onset. A great way to do this is to create an announcement with this video, and pin it to the top of the feed:
Host a Back-to-School Night ClassTag Tutorial
Trying to greet everyone as they visit your room or conference and instruct them on how to use the platform can be overwhelming. If your schedule allows, designate a time during Back-To-School Night for a ClassTag tutorial.
To make it easy, we have a presentation to help save time:
If you don’t have time for a long presentation, no worries! Here’s a quick 2 minute video to get parents started:
PRO-TIP: This quick demo is a perfect way to quickly introduce families to ClassTag, even if they are going back remotely. For parents who prefer step by step instructions here is a help page that lets parents know what they can see or do on ClassTag!
Keep Parents Engaged After Back-to-School Night
To truly make ClassTag successful, don’t end your Back-To-School Night as your parents walk out the door. Follow up with your newly-connected families through a private, personalized message. In your chat window, thank them for attending and attach a photo from the night with their child. When you get the kids excited about ClassTag, it will motivate your parents to stay involved as well.
PRO-TIP: You can see what parents have or have not connected to your classroom. Follow up with parents who haven’t connected a few days after Back-to-school Night. Learn more ways you can introduce ClassTag to parents to ensure you have 100% of parents onboard!
It’s easy to be swept away in the start of the new school year. We’re here to help you go #BacktoSchoolStrong, no matter what the school year brings!
Love ClassTag and want to help your colleagues go #BacktoSchoolStrong?
