Communication with Athletes/Parents/Guardians

● Emporia Public Schools has implemented ParentSquare, which includes Remind, as the primary communication platform with our families. This is a school-home communications platform that allows for consistent communication across our district. ParentSquare is a simple and engaging platform that can assist in communication with our families in a variety of ways. The expectation is for all staff including district office, Administrators, licensed, and classified to use ParentSquare when communicating with families. Staff may continue to use Google Classroom, their district email, or phone calls from a school district phone for communication. However, the only other communication tool will be ParentSquare.

● Communication is a cornerstone to relationships. This is especially true in the coach-athlete relationship. Within this relationship, difficult issues must be dealt with at times, including discipline, player performance and player dissatisfaction. Proper communication results in the positive resolution of such issues, stronger coach-player relations, and other benefits such as the student learning how to solve problems.

● Parents also have a relationship with their child's coach, and communication is equally important to this relationship. Parents may feel the need to step in on their child's behalf. Whatever the motive, proper communication will enhance coach-parent and coach-player relations.

● The following is a guide for coaches, parents and student-athletes. This guide provides a chain of communication that will maintain and build positive relationships.

Step One: Coach-Athlete Session
If a player or his/her parent has any issue or problem with the sport experience, the student athlete is expected to address the coach. Students are also encouraged to talk with a coach about any issue in their personal or academic life. The district's expectations of coaches include open communication and positive relations.

Step Two: Coach-Parent-Athlete Session
If an issue has not been resolved in Step One, the next step in the communication process is a meeting with parents. The guideline here is to make an appointment at the coach's discretion. If the issue is emotional, the appointment should be scheduled at a later time so parties are calm and problem-solving can occur. Also, the parent or player should define the purpose of the session when the appointment is made. In this step, there may be rare cases when it may be best if the athlete does not participate in
the session. If either the parent or coach feels this is the case, this decision should be discussed when making the appointment and purpose of the meeting.

Step Three: Administrator-Coach-Parent-Athlete Session
If an issue is not resolved in Step Two, the next step may be initiated by any party. Using the same process as above, an appointment is set and all parties define the purpose of the meeting.