Do’s:
Always start by being positive, no matter who you are reaching out to; everyone wants to feel valued and appreciated. Parents often only get calls or emails when students do something inappropriate, so even if it is something that isn’t the best news, find something good to share first.
Proofread your emails before hitting send. I will often have a colleague read over what I typed, especially to a parent or admin to make sure it makes sense and is free of grammatical mistakes.
Respond to anyone who emails you in a timely manner. I would say 24-36 hours is a good time frame.
Set boundaries – if you respond back to parents, admin, etc at all hours of the day, they begin to expect that every single time. You are a human who has a personal life too.
If you aren’t sure how to respond to an email, ask for assistance from someone in your building.

Don’ts:
Don’t respond to an email when you’re angry. If you need to write out your feelings just to get them out, do that, but don’t do it in an email.
Don’t use students’ full names. First initial, last name and grade level should suffice when talking to admin or a colleague via email.
Don’t forget to attach the attachment – I know I could use this reminder! 🙂
Don’t send any personal emails with your school email address. This means that if you have something that you wouldn’t want to be read in a lawsuit, don’t send it.

Do create a group email that hides all of your families personal information! It also saves you the time of entering individual email addresses every time you need to send a communication.

Do resist the urge to answer every email immediately! This can create unhealthy expectations for yourself.

I have a student who really struggled on our first math quiz of the year. I emailed the parent with my concerns and let the parent know that the quiz was coming home that day.

I heard no response, but I found some spare moments to work with the student on these skills.

I emailed again with how the student was trying, and I was seeing some progress. I shared good news and thanked the parent for their support at home.

Then, the parent replied. We need to remember to share positives, even small ones, with parents of struggling students.