I didn’t figure out how to efficiently contact home until year 4. I integrate phone calls into my classroom management plan. If students are seen behaving in an expected or leader-like way, I acknowledge them in front of the class and tell them I will be calling home to say how awesome they are. I keep a simple log: name, date, who I talked to or if I left a message, and a plus sign to symbolize that I called for a positive reason. My original thoughts about calls home were that they were too time-consuming. But 2-3 calls can be achieved in 5-10 minutes. I really do try to keep them as short as possible. The purpose is to quickly praise their student. If a phone number I have doesn’t work, I try email or send home a hand-written note. I love ending my day thinking about how awesome kids are.

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