Improving parent engagement at your childcare center starts with having a clear understanding of how and when to communicate. Your childcare center is a community and parents want to be a part of it. By communicating clearly and giving them the tools to succeed, you can increase parent engagement at your center.
Improving parent engagement and communication starts with using the right tools. By having various communication methods, you can meet parents where they’re at. This helps build trust in your center and attracts the right families.Â
To learn more about improving parent engagement at your childcare center, keep reading.
Attract the Best Families for Your Center
Having strong parent relationships starts with having families that believe in your center and want to be a part of your community.Â
Attracting the right families for your center goes back to building a brand and improving your marketing efforts.Â
You need to outline your core values and principles in order to define your center’s mission and vision. This will help you understand what your center stands for and allow you to bring in families that align with your goals. By having families that follow your center’s core values, you can build a stronger childcare center and create a community with high engagement.
Meet Parents Where They’re At
Today’s parents are looking to be connected to their child’s day and stay up to date with happenings at your center. To make communication easy and effective, meet parents where they’re at. This usually means a text message.
ChildcareCRM CEO, Matt Amoia says “Our 2020 Building Blocks for Success report found that 60% of today’s parents prefer texting over email or phone when communicating with businesses.” Â
Using Kangarootime’s software you can send free SMS text messages to your parents to keep them up to date and foster strong communication.
Communicate Clearly and Often
To improve parent engagement at your center, make sure you’re communicating with families clearly and consistently. There’s nothing worse for a parent than an unwanted surprise. By keeping them in-the-loop and setting expectations, your relationships with parents will thrive.Â
Set time aside to connect with parents whether that’s at drop off and pick up or through messaging using a tool like Kangarootime.Â
Host Parent-Only EventsÂ
Hosting events can help bring your parents together. This helps build your community and improves parent relationships.
Try organizing volunteer events, ice cream socials, fundraisers, or monthly zoom meetings on a regular basis to engage your parents.Â
Start a Parent Ambassador Program
A parent ambassador program improves parent engagement while also helping improve your center. The parents who join this program help support your center through events, fundraisers, miscellaneous projects, and more.
Not only does this help connect parents to your center but it also gives parents opportunities to volunteer and socialize with other parents.Â
A parent ambassador program can help improve parent engagement while providing financial support to your center and enhancing student programs.Â
Learn more about improving parent engagement in these resources from Kangarootime:
Applying our Values to Improve Parent Engagement Through Focus on Communication
5 Ways to Increase Parent Engagement
Kangarootime is the leading all-in-one childcare management software for daycares and preschools. With billing and invoicing capabilities, parent communication and staff management tools and classroom automation, Kangarootime helps childcare centers grow and scale. To learn more about optimizing your center with Kangarootime, visit kangarootime.com
