The following guidelines are for staff use of e-mail to communicate with parents.

Response Expectation

• Inform parents that e-mail is not confidential, nor is it expected to be
• Let parents know that e-mail is not checked on an hourly basis, a 24-48 hour response is normal (let parents know what your normal response time is expected to be)
• If there are emergencies, use the phone, not e-mail

Content

• Use e-mail for setting up appointments, phone or conferences
• Use e-mail for sharing curriculum links
• Treat content as if it could be received by another party
• Do not include personal information about the student/child in the e-mail
• Do not include student grade or assessment information in the e-mail
• Do not use e-mail for parental authorization (field trips, picking up student for appt. etc.)

Communication

• Request confirmation on messages that are sent to parents
• Send confirmation on messages received from parents

Security

• ID and passwords take on the next level of meaning; if staff have a negative habit of logging in and walking away from their system,students could represent themselves as staff on the station via e-mail reading/sending capabilities
• Always log off when you are leaving your computer
  • Do not share your password
  • Change your password periodically
  • Use a combination of letters and numbers or characters in your password