School-Home communication
The strength and viability of the Prairie Creek community depends on clear and frequent communication. Families are invited to email, call, write, or visit the school in person with questions, concerns, comments, and suggestions whenever they come up.
Questions about a particular classroom are best directed to a student’s classroom teacher. This is the recommended “first stop” for concerns or inquiries about daily education.
Questions of a general nature about the school are best directed to Colleen Braucher, our office manager, or to Simon Tyler, our director.
Questions about fees and other accounts are best directed to Colleen Braucher, our office manager.
Phone calls + emails
Phone messages for teachers will be passed on, and the teachers will return them as soon as they can. Messages to students will be given to teachers, who then relay them to the students. Please get phone and email messages to the office at least one hour before the end of the school day.
Teachers do not check their email regularly during the school day. If you need a teacher to get information during the school day, please call the office. Your child's teacher will share specific information with parents on Curriculum Night about how best to contact him or her.
Children are allowed to call home with the permission of their teacher or another adult in the school. However, we do not allow students to call home in order to arrange play plans; those plans are best arranged before the children come to school in the morning.
Parent-Teacher communications
Prairie Creek is a community, family-based school. Perhaps its greatest strength is the combination of high-quality teachers and committed parents. Certain approaches and procedures have made this collaboration work very well: Families and teachers get well acquainted during parent visits, at school events, during the three annual conferences, through phone calls and emails, and during spontaneous encounters or beyond-the-building social events. When either teachers or parents are feeling out of touch, it’s probably because it’s been a bit too long between contacts.
It is especially important for parents who have particular concerns to voice them to the teachers as soon as possible, rather than waiting until the next conference date. Speaking about something at the time when it first occurs prevents it from escalating and allows for alterations and corrections if they are seen as necessary.
Sometimes it is most expedient for staff members to call parents in the evening and some may give parents their home numbers or alternative emails in such instances. However, Prairie Creek faculty work very long hours and we ask parents to respect their need for private family and personal time in the evenings and on the weekends.
It probably doesn't even need to be said, but we'll go on record here anyway: expressed concerns or complaints will in no way cost a student’s attention or affection from his or her teacher. Prairie Creek teachers are committed professional educators, and can be counted on to provide consistent support to every child.