Ideas for streamlining parent communication

One of the teaching tasks that I dread is parent communication.  I go overboard trying to get parents' attention. I share messages in every possible way that I can, hoping that one of them will make it's mark.  Nothing seems to work, and I know I'm not alone in this because I work with teachers everyday, and they all tell me the same thing.  But, I've had a thought - an epiphany if you will. I've been thinking a lot about routines lately (see yesterday's post), specifically, how routines are just as important for adults as they are for children.

If I develop a routine for communicating with parents, not only will it be easier for me to handle, but parents will know what to expect and when to expect it - therefore being more open and receptive to communication. Here are a couple of ideas that I'd like to implement in order to make my parent communication more routine:

• Weekly email updates - Every Friday I'm going to send an email about what we've done that week. Hopefully, regular emails will get parents used looking for information here.  If I send them info once a week, I can stop wasting my energy on short messages throughout the week, and ensure that they really read the ones that I do send. 
• Routine newsletter dates - Instead of sending my newsletter near the beginning of the month, I'm going to send them on the first Friday of the month. The newsletter will replace the regular weekly update so that parents still get their Friday email, and aren't bombarded with too much information.  
• Streamlining communication design - I want any additional communication to catch parents' eye, while making it completely obvious what the message or notice is for.  I've gotten a jump start on this by putting together a complete set of matching invitations, sign-up sheets, and reminders for every holiday and event throughout the school year (you can check them out here). Since these have already been designed all I have to do is add content, meaning that I can complete them so much faster!

What are you planning to do to improve parent communication next year? I'd love to hear your thoughts!