COMMUNICATIONS AT CHENGDU INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

HOW CHENGDU INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL COMMUNICATES WITH PARENTS

There are many ways that Chengdu International School staff communicate with parents. It is our hope that communications between the school and parents can be smooth, timely, and useful. The guidelines below outline most, although not all, of the ways that the school communicates with parents.

APPOINTMENTS

Sometimes, it may be necessary for a teacher or other staff member to make a face-to-face appointment with one or both parents of a student. Parents will be notified by either email or phone if an appointment is required. Parents are also encouraged to contact the school to set an appointment as needed with staff members.

EMAIL

Email is typically used for personalized communications between small numbers of people, for example from a teacher to one or both parents to discuss a student’s grades, or from a principal to a parent to answer a parent’s question. It is essential that parents submit an email address that they access regularly so that important personalized communications are not overlooked. The email address that Chengdu International School staff use for these communications is the one given by parents in their child’s application for enrollment or the one input by the parent into PowerSchool. Changes to email contact information may be made in PowerSchool or through the local registrar at registrar@cdischina.com

OFFICIAL WECHAT ACCOUNT

Chengdu International School’s official WeChat account posts news and events each week. You can follow the WeChat link or scan the QR code.

PANDA NOTES

Make every effort to read the Panda Notes each week so as not to miss any deadlines for activities, etc. The Panda Notes can be found through the official WeChat account.

OPEN HOUSE

An Open House is held August 12 at Chengdu International School and gives parents and teachers a chance to get to know each other. This time is used to introduce parents to their child’s teacher, the course content, and various Chengdu International School programs.

PARENT–TEACHER AND STUDENT-LED CONFERENCES

Approximately one week in the middle of each semester, conference times are scheduled during which students and their parents are encouraged to meet with their child’s teachers. This conference not only gives teachers a chance to share valuable information about the student’s progress during the school year, but it also allows students to share their own progress and goals. During the conference parents are encouraged to share information with the teacher and ask questions about their child’s education. Communication between the teacher and the parents is not limited to this meeting—any time parents have questions about their child, they are encouraged to contact their child’s teacher.

POWERSCHOOL AND CANVAS

PowerSchool is an electronic database of student data. Parents can find records of their child’s grades, attendance, lunch account balance, and more in PowerSchool. It is recommended parents check PowerSchool regularly to monitor their child’s academic progress.

Canvas is the learning management system (LMS) for LifePlus and our full network of schools. While most early learners will not use Canvas regularly, parents are able to view all their children’s classes. Parents may also communicate with their child’s teacher directly through Canvas.

WEBSITE

Chengdu International School’s website has detailed information about Chengdu International School’s mission, philosophy, history, programs, and more. For current parents, there is a convenient 'News & Events' page that has archived Panda Notes and announcements.

COMMUNICATIONS FROM PARENTS

LifePlus encourages regular communication from all parents. Below are some guidelines on ways parents can communicate with staff at Chengdu International School.

WHO PARENTS SHOULD CONTACT

For communication about classroom activities or specific student questions, parents should contact the homeroom teacher.

For questions regarding admissions procedures, the Marketing, Admissions, and Communications (MAC) Department should be contacted at admissions@cdischina.com.

For questions regarding finance and/or tuition payments, contact the finance office at finance@cdischina.com.

To change parent contact information, inquire about student records, or update the student’s passport and visa/residence information, contact the registrar at registrar@cdischina.com. It is the responsibility of the parent or guardian to update all student information annually, including passport and visa/residence information.

For general information related to your child, contact the divisional principal's assistant.

ECC and Elementary: Juno.Deng@cdischina.com

Secondary: Linda.Yang@cdischina.com

Parents with concerns about their child’s behavior or academic progress are encouraged to consult first with the classroom teacher. After that, if further consultation is needed, your child’s principal is also available to help. After these steps, if parents still feel like the situation is not resolved, they may want to contact the Head of School.

APPOINTMENTS

Parents are encouraged to make an appointment with any staff member involved in their child’s education at any time during the school year, not only during parent-teacher conferences. Staff members have times during the week when they are available to take appointments. To make an appointment, please either contact the staff member directly, or the appropriate principal’s assistant. Also, please understand that due to work commitments such as teaching and supervision of students, it is difficult for staff members to accommodate face-to-face meetings without an appointment.

EMAIL

Parents are welcome to send emails to specific teachers and staff members about any issue at any time. Chengdu International School staff will make every effort to respond by the next business day. Parents can email the teacher or staff member directly or through the Canvas platform.

PHONE CALLS

Requests that need a response within 24 hours should be made directly to the school receptionist who will direct your call to the appropriate person. Please do not send an email, text message, or use other messaging platforms for urgent matters. Furthermore, please be aware that teachers cannot answer the phone during the school day when they are teaching; therefore, calls may be directed to a principal or principal's assistant.

CONFLICT RESOLUTION

On occasion, problems may arise between students, parents, faculty, and administration. LifePlus advocates for conflict resolution through conversation.

First, the offended party is to go only to the party that offended him or her. It is not appropriate to discuss the matter with others who are not part of the problem or the solution. Most of the time, a candid and personal conversation between the two parties will be sufficient to clear up any misunderstanding that may have developed. For classroom concerns, parents are encouraged to first contact the teacher and arrange an opportunity for conversation. If the two agree on the issue at hand, it must be forgiven and forgotten.

If the offender is unwilling to come to terms, the two parties should take the matter to the school administration at the divisional level. Most problems that make it past the individual level are solved at this level. The divisional level principal will help to mediate a conversation and provide advice and coaching through the conversation.

If the two parties are still unable to come to terms on the administrative level, the problem should be brought before the Head of School. Once the problem has been heard, the Head of School will make a final decision regarding the situation. Further grievances beyond the final decision of the Head of School should be addressed to the LifePlus Superintendent of Schools.