I'm a New Teacher: What Should I Ask the Parents?

Question

I'm putting together a small questionnaire to send home with my students (1st and 2nd grade) and I'm trying to come up with questions to ask the parents. So far, what I have is listed below (many of my students are from other countries and some of their customs are very different from ours, which is why I have the birthday and languages questions).

I especially want to hear from parents of grade school children (the questions teachers have asked you or things you think the teacher should ask about) and teachers of all ages.

Thanks so much for your help!!!!

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What languages does your child speak?

Is their anything you feel I should know about your child?

How do you feel about birthday celebrations?

Does your child have any allergies or take any medications that I should be aware of?

How do you prefer to be contacted for general items? Phone or e-mail? If e-mail, what is your email address.

Who should I contact in case of an emergency? How can I reach that person?

Is their any subject your child has difficulty in?

What subject does your child excel at?

Answer 1

The ultimate decision maker for this survey will need to be the principal so, once you compile it you wold need to forward it to them for review.

You might also want to consider shortening it. You will get more responses that way. Some of the questions are redundant information based on the registration information that the school receives so, it might portray miscommunication.  

Answer 2

1 thing I would also ask, is if teh child was allergic to any kind of perfume scented soap, or lotions.

see I homeschool my son, BUT when he was still in school, I told this to the teacher, that my son is SEverly allergic to any kinds of perfumes & dyes, she ignored it, as a result, my son was rushed to the nearest hospital.

I foudn out he washed his hands with soap she wanted, & his throat strted closing up on him.

So becuase of this, I end up buying him his OWN bottle soap for the room.

If this happend in your end, have the child bring in a bottle of soap they can us, but make sure to have the childs name on it

My son can only use soaps without prefumes or dyes in.

I hope I helped you some.

Also make sure theres no peanut allergies.

Learn if any child has heart defects (my son was born with them), or diabetes. That way if soemone wants to bring in any treats, they know those that can & cant have candy, but to bring oranges, or apples.

Answer 3

I think it is wonderful, other than the emergency and allergy questions...these are typically covered by the school office.

I think you could also ask about students other interests (fav. sport/activity, thing to do on rainy days, brothers or sisters, fav. toy, etc.)  These things do not really help you academically with the children, but they help you get to know they child and let the parents know you care about not only the child's learning, but the child themselves.  

I think you should also ask if the parents have any concerns or questions.  I send out a newsletter once a week and always add "If you have any questions or concerns please feel free to contact me at (school email) or (school phone).

This can be something the parents can do during Open House while kids look around the room and what not as well as something sent home one of the first days of school.

Best of luck!

Answer 4

Please change "their" to there..."Is THERE anything you feel...Is THERE any subject..."

I know that at our school, the parents complete information for the students' permanent records. This includes a home language survey, medications, allergies, contact information, emergency contact information.

I did ask parents to complete a mini-survey at the beginning of the year last year, but it did not include any requests for the information I listed above. I asked for preferred method of contact, strengths and weaknesses of the student, and I left an open-ended question at the end: "Is there anything else I need to know?"

Answer 5

Good for you!  Its so smart to start off by asking the parents for information and help. I do the same thing with my fifth grade class.  Does your school send home a questionnaire ? Usually, the office and nurse ask about allergies, emergency numbers, etc. If so, you might be able to leave those out.

I think its great that you are asking about customs, skills, etc, but you might want to be a little more general, so that you get more information.  I ask things like,

"How does your family celebrate birthdays?" "What special traditions are important for your family in terms of holidays, food, clothing?"

Instead of asking, is there any subject that he struggles in, ask,

"Please tell me what academic strengths your child has" and "Please tell me what your child's weakest academic area is" (everyone has both strengths and weaknesses and you'll get an answer from everyone this way). You should also ask about hobbies, interests, skills, etc.  I ask something like, "What are three major areas of interest outside of school that your child really enjoys?"

Also, ask the parents directly, "What are your worries or concerns for this year?" and "What are your hopes or goals for this year?"

Good luck and have fun, you have entered a wonderful career!