Steady, proactive communication with families builds trust and keeps every family connected to their child's growth, not just when problems come up. Use this checklist to plan and reflect on how you reach out across the whole year. It moves through a welcoming start, regular academic and individual updates, honest heads-ups before progress reports, a mid-year check-in that invites two-way conversation, and an end-of-year review that celebrates growth. It also offers a calm, collaborative approach for the moments when concerns arise. Use it to make sure no family is caught by surprise and every family feels like a partner.
Because of your selected audience type, you may also enjoy the following related resources.
Explore a wealth of accessible, low-cost resources designed to help families begin their ASL journey early—critical for language development in deaf children.
A guide leaders use to assess family partnership and move it from scattered efforts to one schoolwide system, with concrete next steps for every level of practice.
A directory families and staff use to connect with national organizations that support deaf, hard of hearing, and DeafBlind children through family-to-family help and advocacy.