The top shortcut to a productive school year is a smart intro email to your teacher. It will help your teacher understand your child from the start. That way, you avoid lost learning time and incorrect labels, like trouble-maker.
This email template (below) helps you share your learnings from previous school years with the teacher. Pick out a few positive attributes about your child. And, inform your teacher of any learning challenges and solutions that will help them get off to a great start.
Teachers also love short slide shows. They are a great way for you to show pictures of your child in happy moments in a safe environment.
If you have any questions about what to include in your letter/email, leave me a comment in the message box at the bottom of this post. I hope this truly is a shortcut to a productive school year for you!
Happy writing and creating!
Email Template
Dear [Teacher’s Name],
I wanted to let you know how excited I am for the start of the YEAR – YEAR school year. [Your child’s name] is glad to be in your class, as you were the teacher she/he wanted.
[Your child’s name] is an articulate child who loves to _______(i.e. read) and is always on the ball with his/her school work. [These are sample sentences to get you started. Include some positives about your child that would help the teacher see their strengths and interests].
While [your child’s name] is an [adjective that best describes your son or daughter, like consistent, hard-working] student, she/he does have a few challenges that I felt you should know about.
First, [insert specific challenge]. While this has helped him/her to learn and grow, it also has [scared, frightened, made him/her timid, less willing to read or do math, harder to make friends – Be honest here about how this challenges has impacted your child. Also, share an example of how the challenge may present itself in the classroom. Lastly, give them clues to identify when your child is struggling emotionally or academically.]
[Note: If there is medical or assessment based information you have to share, this would be a good place to briefly include it.]
We manage [Insert your child’s name] behaviors with __________________. [If your child is on medication, this is also helpful for the teacher to know.]
While we know this information may seem overwhelming and challenging, we offer it as a way to better understand our child early on in the school year. Our [son/daughter], for the most part is simply delightful.
If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know. I want you to know that we will work with you and support you 100% in your classroom. It may be necessary to send home an assignment book every night so that we are both on the same page.
Other teachers have done this, in the past, and it seems to work out great. [This is a great place to make a couple suggestions about what has helped/worked in the past.]
I look forward to working with you and making this year the best school year ever!
Sincerely,
Insert Your Name
