Room Parent Etiquette"Character Counb" forr Us Too!

As a room parent, you a.e allowed uncommon access to school staff, students and parents.Please study the following to ensure you are always respectful of your special access:

Confidentiality

r What happens in the classroom stays in the classroom! Room parent duties mayinadvertently lead you to leam private things about a student or family. Your ownobservations in the classroom can have a similar result. Please respect the strictconfidentiality that families expect from their school by keeping all such informationprivate. lf a conceming matter arises, report it to the appropriate faculty member.

r Room parents should never approach a parent regarding an issue with their student.o A room parent's interactions with parents and teacherc should never be discussed with

anyone else, not even another room parent.. Be sure to always'blind copy" group emails so private email addresses are not shared.. Teacher and parent contact information should not be shared for any reason that is not

related to your room parent duties.

Asking Parents for Time and Money

r Thank, Thank, Thank your donors for their last contribution before asking for another!. Double check your wording to make sure you're asking for what's needed rather than

telling what must be provided.Aluays be respectful of parents'time. Make your correspondences simple; clear and asinfrequent as possible. Keep in mind that parents wrth multiple students are receivingemails and requests from each of their room parents, possibly even duplicates.Let parents -se.e the results of what you're doing with their time, their money and mostimpbrtantly... their kids! Share pictures of class parties and field trips; tell"them aboutthe

-teachefs overwhelrned.reaction.wtren opening a gift ftom the class. Let them..know heu{the positive resuhs of fundraising efforts have benefited their child(ren).Aroom parent should not ask students to urge their parents to contribute.Group greeting cards and gifts (tor ttre teacher, etc.1 should always be from the entire class,not just the students who contributed-

Respect Parent Contributions

. Conserve all of our valuable school supplies...lf you send home a fuil page fyerasking parents to clonate paper, )rou may not receive too many donations!

Troubleshooting

. lf you get an unwarranted negative reaction from a parent, PAUSE before responding!Understand that it may have more to do with a hectic work day and a busy househoidthan with anything you've done. Whether or not you believe the parent's complaint to bevalid, you're not likely to succeed in talking them out of their anger. lnstead, apologizefor unintentionally initating or offending them and ask how you can avoid doing so againin the future. This will likely end the conflict; howevel if the parent percists, seek advicefrom the teacher or Room Parent Coordinator.

a

I