Attendance & Engagement (Tool #2: Family Welcome Letter)

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Family welcome letter

Family-educator communication is critical to ensuring student success over the course of the school year. Below are some ideas to include in a letter home to families to help build a solid foundation. 

General Tips  

  • Try not to overwhelm families with too many platforms and places to look for information. 
  • Be mindful of your district’s data security and privacy policy when choosing applications to use for communication. Ensure they have been approved by your district.
  • Communicate with families on a regular basis to help build relationships.
  • Encourage families to be involved with the student’s learning.

Introduce yourself and include any relevant schedule information

  • Provide a brief background on yourself to let students and families learn about you.  
  • Share schedules and information students will need. Consider items like classroom procedures, school events and assignment dates.
  • Consider hosting a virtual informational session for families and students to answer questions.

Share platforms that will be used in your classroom to help foster communication

  • Student Management System – Include directions on how to access
  • Learning Management System – Include directions on how to access
  • Email
  • Messenger Application
  • Social Media 
  • Classroom Website
  • Online Conferencing Solution

Communicate district level resources that are available

  • District Website
  • Mobile App
  • Social Media
  • Automated Notification Application

Set communication expectations and provide contact information

  • Share how frequently families can expect to hear from you.
  • Discuss the type of information that will be communicated.
  • Let families know the best way to contact you.

Sample letter

Dear Families:

My name is Sarah Smith, and I would like to welcome your student to my third-grade class. Building a strong family-school relationship is very important to me and I am sending you this letter to outline what to expect in our classroom this year. Additionally, I would like to invite you to a virtual information night on Wednesday, September 1st at 7:00 PM to review this information in further detail. The link to this session is [ONLINE MEETING LINK.] 

Before going into details, I would like to share a little about myself. I have been a third-grade teacher here at Apple Hills Elementary School for 13 years. I have a passion for teaching, learning and getting to know every student individually. When I am not in the classroom, I enjoy going on hikes with my two Labrador retrievers.  

To give you an idea of what our classroom routine will look like on a daily basis, I have included our typical schedule for you. If there are changes to this, I will try to communicate it with you ahead of time.

  • 8:30-9:00 – Arrival and Morning Work
  • 9:00-10:00 – ELA
  • 10:00-11:00 – Reading Groups
  • 11:00-11:30 – Lunch
  • 11:30-12:00 – Recess
  • 12:00-12:45 – Specials (PE/Art/Music/Library)
  • 12:45-1:45 – Math
  • 1:45-2:45 – Science/Social Studies
  • 2:45-3:00 – Pack up and Dismissal

I encourage you to follow along with your students learning progress by regularly logging into our [LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM]. This will allow you to view the status of assignments, grades and attendance. I have attached directions to this letter on how to setup an account and access your students information. I will also be sending out a weekly email newsletter on Fridays to update you on what is happening in our classroom and looking ahead to the upcoming week.

In addition to the communication platforms I utilize in our classroom, I would encourage you to take advantage of other resources our district has available. Our website at [DISTRICT URL] is continuously updated with information. There is also a distract app available for download at [download location] that allows you to subscribe to updates of interest to you.

I look forward to getting to know your student and learning with them over the coming school year. If you need to reach me for any reason, the best method is email at [EMAIL ADDRESS] and I will do my best to respond as quickly as possible. I can also be available for a phone call or online meeting at the beginning or end of the school day.  

Sincerely,

Sarah Smith