Would you like to learn more about your students and their families and lay the foundation for a healthy parent teacher relationship this upcoming school year? If you are nodding yes, then keep reading to learn about how to implement a back to school parent survey.
Parent surveys are a great tool for getting to know your learners from the parents’ perspective. You’ll be amazed at how much information you can gain about your students when you ask their families to share some details. Learn all about back to school parent surveys and how to implement them in your classroom below.
What is a Parent Survey?
A parent survey is a tool for teachers to use to gather information about students and their families. The time parents invest into completing it, the way they describe their child, and the goals they list for their child will allow you to infer how involved they will be and help determine how to best work with them throughout the year.
Your students’ families are the most important partnerships you will have each year. Therefore, it is imperative that you take the time to establish strong relationships with them. Sending home a parent survey is a great way to do this.
Why are Parent Surveys Valuable?
Parent surveys are a valuable tool for elementary teachers to use to get to know their students at the beginning of the school year. Below are reasons teachers love parent surveys.
- Parents appreciate when you ask for their thoughts and ideas. They are putting a lot of trust into you to nurture their child.
- Sending home a parent survey shows you care about their children and want to know all you can so you can work with them effectively. It will instantly help earn their trust.
- You’ll be able to tell a lot about the parent(s)/family by the way the questions are answered. This will guide you in future conversations.
- Knowing a parent’s hopes and concerns up front will allow you to work towards helping them throughout the school year.
- You’ll learn a lot about the student from the parents’ perspective.
What are Good Survey Questions for Parents?
Your back to school parent survey should be short. Limit it to 1-3 pages. In this survey, you’ll want to collect basic information about the student as well as some helpful insights their parents can provide. Some examples of things you could ask the parents to share are:
- Favorite sports and activities
- Favorite holidays
- Adjectives that describe them
- Strengths
- How they learn best
How Elementary Teachers Can Use Parent Surveys
Below are 3 ways elementary teachers can use parent surveys.
1. Back to School Parent Survey
One way elementary teachers can use parent surveys is as a tool to get to know students and their families at the start of the school year. This new school year parent survey is a great tool for this purpose!
2. New Student Mid-Year
A second way elementary teachers can use parent surveys is as a tool to get to know a new student who joins the class in the middle of the school year. It’s a quick way to make a connection with the new family and gather information about the student. This parent survey is a great option for this!
3. Collecting Feedback
A third way elementary teachers can use parent surveys is as a tool to quickly get feedback from parents. Whether you are looking to get feedback on how homework is going or if they are finding the class website helpful, a parent survey is a great way to quickly get insight on how parents are feeling.
How to Implement a Back to School Parent Survey
Below are 3 steps for how to implement a back to school parent survey in your elementary classroom.
1. Download this Back to School Parent Survey
You can download this parent survey from my Clutter-Free Classroom Teachers Pay Teachers store. It’s available by itself, as well as part of my classroom management bundle.
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2. Make a Packet for Each Student
Make copies of the parent survey and staple the pages to form a packet for each student. Some students may need two copies based on their living situation.
3. Send Each Student Home with a Packet
Consider sending them home on a Thursday. That way, families can work on them through the weekend and return them on Monday. Again, be mindful that some students may need two packets based on their living situation.
4. Collect the Packets
As packets come back to school, keep them in one place so you can go through them all once you have received one from every family.
5. Review the Packets
Once you have gotten back all of the packets from your students’ families, take time to closely review all of the parent survey packets. Jot down notes on them using sticky notes and keep them in a safe place so you can refer to them as needed.
In closing, we hope you found this information about back to school parent surveys helpful! If you did, then you may also be interested in these posts:
