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The Northshore School District is fortunate to have voicemail and email communication between families and teachers. Both are easy to use and convenient, but they can also have drawbacks. In some ways, electronic communication can complicate rather than simplify interactions. Email has increased teacher workload and led to a reply/response expectation that may not be realistic.

Here are some guidelines to keep in mind when using email with teachers:

Time

The classroom environment does not allow teachers to check their email and voice-mail regularly. Additionally, teachers many be unavailable for a variety of reasons such as, helping students individually, illness, attendance at workshops and conferences, meetings or lesson preparation. Many of our teachers have over 150 students per day. If you do not receive and answer the same day, it does not mean you are being ignored - teachers are just very busy!

Purpose

Think about the goal of your communication. If the goal is to simply share a piece of information or give the teacher some lead time to think about an issue, an email is probably appropriate. If the goal, however, is to have a two-way communication and meaningful dialogue, email is not appropriate. A phone call or meeting is a better option.

Points to Keep in Mind

Teachers are interested in communicating with parents and many have best times to call and their email address listed on their websites. They want to know if a student is having difficulty at home or at school. At the same time, it is important for teachers to strike a balance between communication and lesson preparation. Emails often leave too much room for misunderstanding. Issues can often be resolved much more effectively if people can hear each other's tone of voice and can respond immediately to questions or misinterpretations.

Dedicated teachers, committed students and supportive parents are clearly the key to our educational success. Clear and careful communication will go a long way toward helping us all achieve our goals.