In a previous Education Solutions blog post, we shared pearls of wisdom from teachers who had been selected as a Toyota Family Teacher of the Year. Over the past 20 years, professionals from across the nation were chosen for this honor because of their firm commitment to families. The hard work, effort, dedication, and determination of these Toyota Family Teacher of the Year recipients goes beyond teaching young people to helping them succeed at life. These teachers worked long hours, often taking their support of families outside the classroom walls and into families’ homes and personal lives.

Each teacher shared habits which they consider the keys for success in working with students and families. Not surprisingly, many of these habits are practices that countless teachers use to make their work more meaningful and successful. From teacher to teacher, here are 10 practices to build stronger families and stronger communities:

1. Focus on families. Put families in the forefront of everything you do.
2. Cultivate passion and energy within yourself. Be passionate, enthusiastic, and positive. Love what you do, get out of your comfort zone, and enjoy the experience.
3. Build Trust. Make sure students know they are valued, and that their contributions are welcome. Building trust grows out of knowing that teachers are sincere.
4. Build community. We all benefit from a community of support. We are stronger together than separate.
5. Make personal connections and develop relationships. Nothing is more important than the human connection. Make that connection every day.
6. Engage your team. It’s not a one person show. It takes a village.
7. Be a learner. Learn in order to teach. Learn from your experiences and from your students.
8. Be a reader. Read, and share the love of books and reading with others.
9. Begin every day. Be prepared. Students deserve your best every day.
10. End every day. Reflect. What will you do differently tomorrow?

Stay tuned to the Hotspot for Families Learning blog as we explore each of these practices in more depth throughout 2018. Subscribe today so that you can be part of the conversation!

Additionally, Stronger Families, Stronger Communities, NCFL’s recent publication, explores the work of Toyota Family Teacher of the Year recipients; purchase a copy at Amazon to learn more about their successful strategies for working with families.