Private Number/Screening Calls

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Home : 2002 : March : 2

Private Number/Screening Calls
By Sharon D.W.L

I too feel that I do not need to address phone calls at home. I usually arrive at school 45 minutes before the first bus and I rarely leave before 4:00 PM. In fact I usually stay at least two nights each week until 5 or
6:00 PM. I use Moose Books which have a "communications" log in it. I can write home and home can respond or ask questions themselves. I check these each day. If they want to call me or if I need to call them I write a note to ask for a good day/time to phone. I make all my calls from the school. Because I live in the same community I teach in I can easily arrange for a meeting any

evening at the school or any morning before classes start. I have even offered to do home visits. (This is where I go to their home). I have an interpreter with me as many do not always speak English and often this is important as my notes are in English and the communication is simply not there. I have had older students living in each home be translators for me by reading the note and explaining it to the parent/guardian. I can also ask a translator to visit a home before hand to see if a visit from the classroom teacher will be welcome.

I do screen my calls at home and my husband and I are talking about getting a private number. We have caller ID and an answering machine. However many of the people who call are reluctant to leave messages. I had one mother call me 17 times on a week-end. I screened each call. She left no message. I called her back the following Monday at the start of my only prep that day. All she wanted was a class list to do up Valentines. In fact she wrote me note in the child's Moose Book to ask for it. I have had parents try to speak with me during class time and I simply tell them that we can arrange a meeting either before classes start at 8:55 AM or after 3:00 PM. I can also arrange an evening meeting at the school or their home if they'd like.

I have two home visits planned for next week. One is to help establish a homework routine for one student. The other is to help the guardian understand what is written in the report card for another student as the grandmother does not speak English. Nor do they have a phone.

sdwl