Communication Guidelines

Sample Welcome email (generic)



Personal Notes Vs. Mass Communications

1.  Personal notes should only go to those with a vested interest in that specific person.  For example, when you are emailing a student, you may want to copy the parent and/or an administrator on the email.  A parent and administrator would have a vested interest in the student.  But, you do not want to copy people who have no business with the specific information.

2.  Mass Communication should ideally be for items that affect the entire community.  For instance, a teacher can send a mass email if they want to share a scholarship or maybe a piece of technology information that would be beneficial to the community at large.  One piece of information a teacher could share could be free tutorial services in academic areas for students.  This would be something of value to all stakeholders.

3.  Stakeholders are any persons with vested interest in the Ga Virtual School Learning Platform.  That can include and not limited to parents, students, administrators, IT personnel, teachers, community relations that have some impact on the teaching and learning.

School Policies regarding Communication:

Communication Guidelines for Students and Parents:

1. Compose a Welcome Email and include the course name, expectations, and specific testing and/or readings or suggested items or necessary materials, such as calculators in mathematics courses. In addition, include the following:
   • A personal welcome message
   • Information concerning the date and time of the synchronous Welcome Session
   • Instructions concerning course access
   • Instructions accessing Course Schedules and Course Syllabi
   • General Instructor Contact Information, including phone, and school email
2. Phone each student enrolled in registration and welcome him or her to the program and class. Note the sample Welcome Call Checklist. In addition, include the following:
   • Speak with the student’s parents, if possible
   • Verify all contact information, including emails, mobile numbers, and phone numbers are accurate
   • Address any questions
3. Document all contact for future reference regarding student performance, special needs, and/or academic issues.
   • document and file emails
   • use a log of information, noting the date, time, context of the contact
   • cc all administrative team members on student concerns, academic violations, or parental issues as determined by the program’s policy for communication.

Tools for Effective Communication:

Dial My Calls: Similar to a robocall, this service allows instructors a method of sending a voice mail message to all contacts. This effective and highly-used site includes free capability for a specific number of calls. Once the limit is reached, users must pay a minimal charge.

Remind 101: All stakeholders may sign up for this service, where instructors may send a general text to all contact. Remind 101 is an excellent tool to utilize when sending out due date reminders or a change in synchronous session time.