I would tell parents about your communication style at the beginning of the year. I would create a day each week to send individual updates to every family. It may be beneficial to give a survey that asks parents what the best way to reach them is. E-mail might not work for everyone. Providing a specific day for updates can be a good routine to set. You may also consider creating a classroom website. It can be a great tool to use for frequent communication (general class information). You could upload weekly newsletters, reminders, share resources, and talk about curriculum goals.

I believe that for general communication, it's helpful to send out a monthly newsletter. This can cover the curriculum you'll be teaching that month as well as any birthdays, special events, or any other announcements. When you need to communicate about individual students, I plan on reaching out first via email and then following up by phone as needed. Not only do you want to communicate with parents when there are issues of misbehavior, but you also want to reach out when their student goes above and beyond in the classroom. If your school utilizes take home folders, you could send notes home to share about their student's success.

In the beginning of the year, I would send out a survey asking parents what their preferences are for communication. Of course you might have differing opinions but I would pick the happy medium based off of your survey responses.

I believe one email on Sunday or Monday revealing what the upcoming week will look like is perfect. If you want to provide further details/information for individual students, I would send out a text or a written note home with that student as often as you would like.

I don't think there's such thing as too much correspondence. If you are looking for a form of communication that isn't email, you could send home news letters. As you start a new lesson, you can send home a "What We're Learning in ygaQaQ's Class" news letter. These letters can go home with the students in their folder (if you use those for homework and such) or they can be by the classroom door for parents to pick up when they're there.

I think there are more outlets to reach parents than always through email, yes! I think having a monthly or weekly meeting, even if it is for 20 min could be a useful solution. This way you can keep them up to date and touch base with them without blowing up their email. This will also keep your communication with them open and up to date, which is important.

I think a weekly email/newsletter can be sent either with the student or if you have a website for your class you can post it there. I also think it's on a need-to-know basis, if something is important and needs a response ASAP then send it when necessary.

I would say send a daily update. I have a teacher friend who sends parents a quick message of a few sentences telling them what was done in class and how their student participated. This allows the parents to have an idea of what their child is learning in class and how their student is behaving while also opening up an invitation for the parent if they have any questions or concerns

Documentation, documentation, documentation! I know you feel a parent should know how their child is doing but my experience has discovered if the parent really wants to know how their student is doing they would contact you. Phone calls are the preferred method of communication when i need to get a hold of a parent (an I will leave a message but i am not going beat myself up if they don't get back to me. The attempt will be noted in the students file.

I would try to reach them over phone. Leaving a message or voicemail for them to hear will usually result in a call back. Although if they are not answering the emails and this is an ongoing problem I would try to get the administration involved or the school resource officer. It is important that the parent and teacher have a good line of communication open at all times.

If anything, do not bombard the parent with emails. I would recommend only emailing the parents if there is a problem. If their child is doing well, parents very rarely need an update.