Does anyone call home to tell parents good stories on a regular basis? It's something I've been wanting to do, but I'm wondering what the reaction has been/if you think it's been successful.

I have to share this! At my previous school, we would give out positive referrals to the office! We were encouraged to “catch ‘em being good”! Honestly, not the already good kids but the ones who seem to struggle. It was done on the down low. For example, John Doe was finally passing your class then you’d write him up and give it to his AP. They’d call him in. “What did you do in Mr. Jacobs’ class?!?” They would play it like a discipline referral and spring it on them that they were doing great and how proud we all are of them. Then, the admin would call home: “Mrs. Doe, John is in the office with me...”
I know it sounds hokey but it worked! Kids got more respectful, we were more positive as a school, grades went up, fights went down! Truly amazing!
When one is looking for the good, one finds it. I used to do something similar in class as well. If a student would work hard and improve in class, I would write a positive note home. It really does wonders! I even made postcard size notes in publisher and ran them off on the copier to send positive notes home.
Positive does beget positive.
(I rarely call home in general because I want proof of what I said and I tend to “birdwalk” or “go off script”.)

As a profession, we do a very good job about sharing bad news, (when kids are failing, not doing homework...), but not a very good job at sharing good news. No wonder our job is so hard.

I venture to guess more good things happen in our classrooms than bad. Share it!

I view parent communication as a bank account. If you have an inkling that you may have to withdraw a lot (i.e. send bad emails and calls), you sure as heck better make sure you have deposited some first (i.e. good emails and calls). If your account dips below zero, it’s not always very pretty. Parents need to know you see the good too, or you can wear away at their trust.

I do a Student of the Week, one in each of my classes. My unwritten rule is that they have to have at least a C, but I can recognize them for any reason.
I play the Superman theme and “fly” in front of class. I then praise the student anonymously in front of class. They’re all looking around hoping it’s themselves. At last, I reveal the name on a strip of paper. Student gets up, pins their name on the bulletin board while the class applauds.
I hand them a sealed note for their parents and give them a free homework assignment for the week. They can choose to do the assignment for extra credit if they like.
I stopped doing SOW for two years because I didn’t like my students (and I got lazy), but I am so glad I brought it back.

It's very successful. Parents love hearing good things about their kids. Plus, if l have to ever call about a problem or something negative, I've already established a relationship with them. The problem news is received much better because they know l also see good things in their child too.

I try to make one positive call or post card a week. On a tough week I try to do more. I need to focus on the positive and why I love my job. I will also try to make my first contact positive. At the beginning of the year, I can usually predict who I might need to call home about for poor behavior or grades. I focus on them first, so my first contact with home is positive. I believe in this and after 25 years, still do it and try to get other teachers to do it. I called two parents yesterday because the kids actually raised their hand and asked a question for the first time. Nothing big necessarily, but improvement in behavior that I want repeated.

Since I do not have a planning period I send emails to my students' parents. I have tried phone calls in the past and it did not work, but I have had great success with emails.

Its def a good thing. Helps to balance out calls of concern so that hey dont think their child is bad, doing bad.

I do send emails out with reminders about upcoming events and deadlines for grades but I also include how awesome my students are!

It feels great to call homes with positive comments about their student.

Sometimes when I've called with a positive comment , there's dead silence on the other end. When I check to see if the parent/ guardian is still on the line they usually say ' nobody's ever called and said anything good about my kid."
That's amazing right?

Sometimes when I've had an especially trying week, I make only positive phone calls home. Students who are doing negative things get so much attention. It feels good to focus on the positive instead.

Parents and students are pleasantly surprised and pleased when you do this. These kids tell other students and pretty soon you get requests from students to call their homes.😁

I do not

I have before. We also ha e positive referrals to admin.

Parents love to hear good things about their kids! I try to send a few emails a week.