When it comes to supporting children in their education, consistent communication between schools and families is key. As an interventionist, keeping the lines of communication open is an exercise in the ability to manage your time effectively. After all, unlike classroom teachers, you probably provide interventions for 50 or more students per day. So, keeping in regular contact with parents can be a challenge especially when you have additional duties and lesson plans for all those groups to keep up with.
As a reading interventionist, I wanted a simple tool I could use any time a new round of interventions started, and at conference time. So, I created what I call an Intervention Snapshot. This is a helpful resource designed to keep parents and guardians informed about why their child is receiving intervention services and the goals they are working on and toward during their intervention sessions.
This one-page document provides detailed information that is short, sweet, and to the point about a child’s intervention services without overwhelming parents with educational jargon. And while I only provided reading interventions, I wanted to make sure I provided a similar form for other interventionists, so this resource also includes forms for math, writing, and behavior interventions.
Let’s look at why you need to be utilizing intervention snapshots for effective school to home communication.
The Importance of the Intervention Snapshot
Like teachers, parents and guardians play a crucial role in a child’s education. They are often eager to know how their child is progressing and how they can support them at home. Even if they aren’t the most supportive of education and academic progress, it is still important to keep parents and guardians informed. The Intervention Snapshot allows you to do that and serves as a bridge between school and home by providing essential information about the intervention being provided such as the focus skill, time, location, student goal, and more.
Quick and Concise Information
Let’s face it, we are all constantly bombarded with information to read from our children’s school. I get a text, email, and notification from an app for every single piece of information my daughters’ school sends out. And when there is more than one notice that goes out per day, it becomes overwhelming. I feel like I constantly must go back and reread to make sure I have all the information I need from the notice.
One of the key advantages of the Intervention Snapshot is its brevity. The one-page format presents all the important information in a concise manner, so parents can quickly grasp their child’s progress without feeling overwhelmed. This format includes:
- Focus Skill: The targeted skill the child is working on (fluency, reading comprehension, decoding CVC words, etc).
- Time and Location: Details about when and where the intervention sessions occur.
- Student Goal: The specific objective the student is striving to achieve.
- Strengths and Areas for Growth: Insights into what the child does well and what areas they have room to grow in.
- How to Help at Home: Suggestions for parents to support their child outside of school.
- Next Steps: What can parents expect to happen at the end of this round of interventions?
- Interventionist’s Contact Information: How can parents and/or guardians can reach you for any questions or further discussions.
Flexibility
The Intervention Snapshot is available in both color and black-and-white print options, making it easy to match your preferences. Additionally, there is an editable Google Sheets option for those who prefer a digital format where you can duplicate the slides so you have as many as you need, type all your information in, and print!
Benefits of the Intervention Snapshot
- Enhanced Communication: By providing regular updates, parents and guardians can stay informed about their child’s academic journey. This way they never feel surprised when their child stops receiving interventions or is referred for more intense interventions.
- Improved Collaboration: The snapshot encourages collaboration between parents and interventionists, leading to better outcomes for students.
- Managing the Balancing Act: During parent-teacher conference season, this resource allows interventionists to share progress even if they cannot attend a conference.
- Actionable Insights: Parents can take immediate action based on the information provided, offering additional support at home.
Conclusion
The Intervention Snapshot is a valuable resource for educators, parents, and students alike. By offering a quick, clear, and informative overview of a child’s intervention sessions, it strengthens the home-school connection and empowers parents to support their child’s growth and success.
Would this be a useful tool for you to use? Let me know in the comments!
