Building Trust

I have had a string of great parent phone calls this week. It isn't that they were all about positive things, but the parents seem to really be responding to the culture of outreach and partnership that is being cultivated. It is true that throughout my career, I have avoided my share of parent phone call. It was probably because my skill level to have tough conversations over the phone wasn't where it needed to be or it could have been pure laziness. Recently though, I have found myself in the position of engaging more parents in a variety of ways, and it is paying dividends. The e-mails, face-to-face visits, long phone calls, and extra efforts to see and be seen on the community are working. It is exciting to experience this as an educator, and I hope that this connection can filter throughout my staff to a point where this positive energy can be felt by the community. Building trust is the hard work, and it is the work that can quickly be shattered. Hopefully, our momentum continues.