How positive interactions with parents at the elementary level impacts student academic achievement, behavior, and referrals in the school setting

Communication between school and home is often limited to concerns regarding a student's lack of progress or poor behaviors during school (Jenson, 2007). This study discovered when teachers utilized technology to regularly communicate with the parents of students identified as having emotional and behavioral disorders the result was an increase in positive student behaviors and benchmark test scores for FAST testing and a decrease in number of referrals earned among participants. Also, parents reported an increase of awareness of desired behaviors and a positive relationship with the teachers. Data for this research was maintained through the use of behavioral success cards, FAST assessment benchmark scores, a school wide system to track major and minor referrals and parent pre and post surveys. The timeline of the study included 11 eleven weeks, three weeks to gather baseline data and eight weeks to gather data based on intervention and withdrawal phases.