Many of us have experienced a few times—and some may have experienced it many times—when you call a parent of a student and cannot reach them. You may get messages such as "voicemail full and cannot receive any more messages," "this number is no longer in service," or find that this person does not have a voicemail set up. Sometimes you may get a wrong number even though it is still listed in the student’s family contact information.

These issues can be annoying, but as long as we document the effort that we are calling the parents to provide important information, or trying to resolve a student’s issue, then we are usually covered by our documentation if the parent comes to the school and starts drama. This is why parents always need to submit their current and accurate phone numbers to us in case we have to reach them to provide important school information or an urgent issue relating to their child. Parents also need to call the school to update their address and phone number if they move and change numbers and addresses.

Ways to Change Information

Many times the parent or guardian can call the school and provide a change of address and phone number if they move during the school year. That is probably the best thing to do so the parent's or guardian’s contact information is up-to-date in the school district’s student database. This is especially important when a district-wide or school-wide alert goes out regarding an emergency situation, or in the case of weather alerts that affect the whole district.

Sometimes, the parents will give a change of address and phone number to the teacher or counselor, which is also fine. Though it's still best—even requested—for parents or guardians to provide a change of phone number and address when they move and/or get a new phone number.

Updating phone numbers and addresses when a family moves is also important for high school students applying to colleges and for scholarships. I would hate for a well-deserving student to miss a college acceptance or the opportunity for a scholarship just because the parent didn’t update their address and phone number correctly after applying for a college or scholarship. That would probably devastate the child when he or she found out they didn’t get accepted into their college of choice or missed getting a scholarship because of their parent—or themselves—not updating their address and phone number.

Please Encourage Parents to Update Their Info

Please encourage your parents to update their address and phone number if they move and change contact information. It is vitally important, especially if an emergency comes up that affects their child or the whole school. The parent or guardian would hopefully want to know that their child is okay if an alert went out about school dismissal due to serious weather approaching, or worse, an active shooter situation.

You could inform parents to update their contact information throughout the year in the school newsletter as a reminder. You could also remind them to update their contact information via Zoom meetings and other social media outlets. This way parents know—or should know—that you are genuinely caring for their child.