It can be tough for school leaders to connect with parents and outside community members, but there are plenty of strategies that can make regular communication a bit easier.

So says Principal Demian Barnett in a blog post on SmartBlogs.com. In this article, the California elementary school principal offers four key strategies educators can use to connect with parents and community members.

"The students are what bring the community together," Barnett wrote. "A student’s education is not only an investment, but also represents a long-term relationship between home and school that needs to be nurtured by parents and school leaders. A child’s education is often the longest relationship parents will have with an organization, and it’s a journey that parents, teachers and administrators should take together."

The first strategy Barnett suggested was to "modernize your school-home connection."

"Administrators, teachers and parents are busier than ever, and they’re constantly 'on the go,'" Barnett wrote. "It’s difficult for parents to manage daily work schedules while playing active roles in their child’s education and interacting with teachers. Parents increasingly want to communicate using the same mobile devices they use for myriad other tasks."

Barnett said that it is "important for schools to recognize this growing trend and meet parents in the middle when it comes to school-home communication."

"We use a communication platform to streamline dialogue between parents and teachers," he wrote. "It’s a challenge to get information to parents, but with the help of online communication tools, schools can quickly connect and involve the entire education community through one integrated platform."

Read the full story and comment below. 

Article by Kassondra Granata, Education World Contributor