How can I set a reply schedule for parent emails after I've already been answering them at weekends?
Education"Are you seeing this?" a parent wrote on Sunday morning. Her first message, sent Saturday evening, asked which reading page her child should complete.
I teach a primary class and have been answering messages whenever I notice them. I thought quick replies would make the first term easier. Now some parents send a second message if I don't respond within a few hours, and I find myself checking while visiting family.
The school has a published contact route and a working-day response expectation. I haven't been following it consistently myself. How do I return to that arrangement without making parents feel they've suddenly lost access to me? I need to stop treating an ordinary homework question as a task that follows me into every weekend, but my earlier replies helped create the expectation.