It’s finally here! The first day of school is finally here! After I dropped my kids off at school on their first day, I stopped by snazzy Houston eatery Snooze and had an amazing breakfast and an even more amazing mimosa. What?!? I was celebrating!
But now that the first day high is simmering, I’m working on doing one of the most important things I’ll do all year: sending that first email to my child’s teacher. There are tons of studies that show the strength of the parent/teacher relationship directly correlates to a student’s success. And since I believe that my child’s teacher is my partner, my co-parent, my teammate, it’s important that I send that message right away. Every email I’ll send this year will follow a 4-part formula:
Express their value + state the purpose of my email + makes the ask + sets the time parameters
Here’s the email I’ll be sending to my child’s teacher(s). (Hint, hint: Copy, tweak, paste and send to your child’s teacher too!)
{insert teacher’s name},
I am so excited that {insert child’s name} will be in your class this year! My goal for {insert child’s name} this year is to really enjoy learning, be successful at it and to be a great friend in the process. (These are mine. Choose your own based on your son/daughter’s grade, strengths and challenges) While these are things I'll stress at home, my {son/daughter} can’t be successful without you, and so I’m glad to have you on our team.
I wanted to share a few things about {insert child’s name} that I think are worth knowing. I’m sure you’ll figure out more about him eventually, but these are the 2-3 things that I thought were worth sharing up front. (Only 2-3–keep it short since this is just a teaser)
Here’s a list you can choose from, but feel free to create your own. You know your child best!
My son/daughter loves {insert subject, toys, hugs, whatever…}
When my son/daughter needs to be disciplined, he/she responds best to { }
My son/daughter had a really rough year last year because...
My son/daughter had a really great year last year because...
I’d love to schedule a time for us to talk for a few minutes (15-20 minutes) about the key learning objectives for the year and what I can do at home to support the work you are doing at school. Is there a time within the next two weeks that we could meet either in person or via phone?
Thanks in advance for working with me to make sure {insert child’s name} has a great year.
I’m looking forward to it.
{insert your name}, {insert child’s name}’s mom
