At St. Andrews International School Sukhumvit S107 in Bangkok, we shape young minds to better prepare them for tomorrow as successful adults by promoting our holistic approach to education.

We also support the well-being of our young learners by cooperating with their parents in order to have two-way support of their academic and socio-emotional development as would-be future leaders.

Strengthening parent-teacher partnerships allows young learners to truly learn in a holistic manner—both at the school and at home, leading to an all-encompassing educational approach.

The way our school at St. Sukhumvit interacts and communicates with our young minds’ parents directly influences the quality and impact of the children’s learning in a home environment.

The Importance of Positive Communications between Parents and Teachers

The students’ learning shouldn’t be limited to just the four walls of a school. Their home environment should not impede their development from being children to growing into mature teenagers who are ready for college and beyond.

It’s one thing for the primary and secondary school children of St. Sukhumvit International School to learn about academics, extracurricular activities, and socio-emotional skills on campus. It’s another thing altogether for them to practise what they’ve learned in a home environment that extends beyond any homework, assignment, or take-home projects assigned by their teachers.

“Improving parent-school partnerships helps parents monitor their children while also supporting their school work at home in a holistic fashion.” (Teacher Quote)

How do stronger parent-school communications and partnerships help with the development of the child or student? Let us count the ways.

For instance, when schools tell parents about a child’s performance and excellence, this will encourage the parents to involve themselves with their children’s studies. When schools instead only inform parents about bad performances, they’re less likely to benefit their children.

It defeats the purpose of combining different educational disciplines if the children aren’t able to find home support for their academic progression. It’s not truly “holistic”.

How Parent-Teacher Partnerships Help in Holistic Learning

According to research, parental involvement can free up the teachers’ time to focus on teaching children.

Furthermore, having more contact with parents allows teachers to learn more about their young learners’ needs and home environment, which they can then use to better meet those needs.

To remind parents, the holistic development of the child or student covers every aspect of their growth, whether it’s developing their intellectual, mental, physical, social, extracurricular, or co-curricular skills.

The teachers and parents should be on the same page on the academic and holistic maturation of the student to avoid sending mixed messages on the poor young man or woman.

Parents and teachers should keep tabs on the development of any given young mind so that there’s no need for a parent-teacher conference to ensure everyone is on the up and up in regard to the young person’s track record.

They should also tag-team the child so that they’re able to uniformly and positively influence their development in school and at home.

Positive reinforcement and focusing on the strengths of the child from personalised care at home and holistic treatment in school should help mould these young minds for the better without suffering from any incongruent development.

What are the Opportunities for Two-Way Communication between Parents and Teachers?

Even though our school caters to children from ages 2 to 18 years old, this cooperative partnership between teacher and parents is something we believe they should benefit from even at a young age.

The school’s opportunities for two-way communication between parents and teachers include the following instances:

• Parent-teacher conferences

• E-mail or school website contact page

• Phone calls and text messages (SMS)

• Parent-teacher organisations or school community councils

• Folders of schoolwork sent home for parent review every week or month

Parents should involve themselves more in their children’s education. Their learning shouldn’t stop at home even though there should also be time for rest and relaxation from school work. A school-to-home balance should be worked out.

The value of school involvement in home life is beneficial to parents to avoid turning the school into an academic baby-sitter for their children.

Instead, parents will be able to adjust home life to supplement school life, leading to a truly holistic system of education in a collaborative way with open channels of communication between St. Andrews and every parent.

How Involved Should Parents be with Their Children’s Education?

The parents should get ideas from St. Andrew Sukhumvit on how to support and help their children or teens to excel in every facet of their development.

Education in terms of academics and holistic development of the individual shouldn’t be shouldered by St. Andrews Sukhumvit alone. It should be done in a collaborative way with the parents of the youngsters themselves for the best results.

Their home life should not impede their schooling. The parents should assist in helping the child out when learning about the school’s academic programme and how it works.

The most effective forms of communication between parents and teachers include personal contact through curriculum nights or open houses, telephone calls, home visits, and conferences.

This helps establish rapport between parent and teacher, although it’s also important to note that the teachers deal with many children and parents, so they couldn’t report the status of every young mind to every last family.

The Benefits of Collaboration between Parents and Teachers

When St. Andrews teachers communicate with the parents, they consider their remarks in light of categories that influence their participation. They typically communicate about the accomplishments of the child, classroom learning activities, and how parents can help at home with the holistic learning of their children.

There’s significant evidence of how parental involvement of parents with teachers significantly benefits the children or students in terms of raising their achievements.

Not only are the parents made aware of the St. Andrews’ holistic system of learning that develops the child both academically and holistically as an individual and future leader. Their involvement also serves as an incentive for the child to do their best.

Children who are taught under the parent-teacher collaboration system tend to have a more optimistic attitude towards school work and homework in general.

A young learner with an involved parent who regularly communicates with St. Andrews Sukhumvit teachers tend to be more motivated about learning, is less likely to misbehave, and will regularly attend classes.

Parents who are involved with their children’s education have a more positive attitude towards teachers, which boosts teacher morale.

The Bottom Line

At St. Andrews, we make it our mission to help children realise their inherent holistic potential by providing them with the resources they need to succeed in their current and future endeavours. We do this by establishing a solid partnership between our school and our young learners’ parents.

Meanwhile, St. Andrews Sukhumvit British International School S107 is part of the international Cognita School Group — an organisation that manages schools in America, South America, Middle East, India, Asia, and Europe.

Do you want to find out what our international school has to offer? Visit the St. Andrews campus to learn more. Fill out our online form to book a school tour or watch our school’s personalised interactive virtual campus tour for more details.