I think this standard wants me to recognize the importance of establishing a strong

relationship with those in the larger community surrounding the school. It is vital to develop a

collaborative relationship with students’ support at home, whether a parent or guardian. Without

home support, students will have a difficult time continuing their education outside of school. It

is especially important for the younger grades to have this home support helping them learn to

read and learn essential routines, such as completing homework and bringing it back to school. I

also think it wants me to recognize that collaboration with colleagues and businesses in the

surrounding community will furthermore help to enhance student learning and well-being. These

collaborative relationships help to create an effective learning environment as well as provide

additional resources for student success.

The artifact I chose for this standard is a sample letter to send home for parents and/or

guardians at the start of a new school year, describing daily and weekly classroom routines in

addition to including a questionnaire to learn more about the student and their home support. In

the letter, I emphasize my hopes in establishing an open and communicative relationship

between home and school. While writing the letter, I considered how to create and maintain this

relationship, such as through a weekly newsletter sent home with the student. Additionally, I

considered the likely management system for the classroom, explaining its details to parents and

guardians. This helps students’ home support understand my philosophy on discipline and

student responsibility. There surely will be differences between their home life and school life,

but it is important to clearly present to parents and guardians the student expectations for the

classroom and at school. Considering what to include in this letter has helped me to “understand

the benefits, barriers, and techniques involved in parent/family relationships.” By including a

questionnaire in the letter, I will be able to further learn about students’ abilities and interests as
well as about their home lives. Overall, this letter intends to “develop relationships with parents

and guardians to acquire an understanding of the students’ lives outside of the school in a

professional manner that is fair and equitable.”

While writing this sample letter to parents and guardians, I was encouraged to consider

what will be important in my classroom as well as what will be necessary to know about the

students to adapt my classroom to their needs. I now have a better understanding of possible

ways to develop collaborative relationships with students’ home support. As a teacher, it will be

important for me to understand the backgrounds of my students, such as if they have someone at

home to read to them at night. Not only will this knowledge help me understand my students

better, but it will also help me evaluate and modify my instruction to better address students’

individual needs while in the classroom. For example, by asking about children’s responsibilities

at home, I will know to what degree it will be necessary to incorporate personal responsibility

into the classroom.

By writing the letter to parents and guardians, I feel more prepared to teach and learn in a

diverse society. ‘Diverse’ can be defined in multiple ways. For one, it can be interpreted as an

ethnically and racially diverse environment. However, it can also be interpreted as a

socioeconomically diverse environment, including those with low socioeconomic status as well

as those with high. It is important for me to learn about the diverse student backgrounds found in

the classroom. This can be accomplished by sending home a letter at the beginning of each year

to parents and guardians, preparing me in the best way to educate a diverse group of students. I

look forward to using this knowledge in my future and am confident that my future experiences

will furthermore build upon these understandings as well.