Return to School 2021 looks much different than Return to School 2020 for about a billion different reasons. It’s been another YEAR of the pandemic. Most early elementary students have had less than full year of in-person schooling. The regulations regarding in-person safety are in constant flux. There are so many components in play, not to mention the usual anxiety and routine-establishing growth pains of “regular” back to school. What could a teacher to parent letter do to address all of these?
The beginning of this school year also feels tremendously different to me for a very personal reason. My sweet son is beginning Kindergarten, starting his “official” schooling for the first time. Cue all the emotions. Both my mom brain and my teacher brain feel like they’re on 110. Despite all the empathy I’ve practiced for my students’ parents in my previous 11 years of teaching, this year hit different. It hit… deeper.
Parent Teacher Trust
More than anything, I’ve been reflecting on the extreme trust that needs to take place between parents and educators. It’s overwhelming when you step back and take stock. More than just physical safety which is no small thing this year, parents entrust teachers with their child’s socio-emotional wellness, their attitudes towards learning and all the things that make them THEM.
Questions flow: Will my son’s fascination with bugs be encouraged or squished? What will his peers and teacher think about his rainbow-painted nails? His hand-me-down Batman shirts? His propensity to growl like a wild animal? Will they see his sweet heart to help, assume it’s attention-seeking behavior — or, most accurately, acknowledge it as a very-5-year-old mixture of both?
As a parent, I find myself wanting to explain him – explain US – to his wonderful teacher. To let her in on his quirks and his triggers. To celebrate what makes him HIM. As a teacher, I can imagine anew how my 1st grade students’ parents likely feel similarly as they drop off their child each day. I increasingly wanted a way to communicate that to them, somehow, before the school year even began.
Communicating my heart to my students’ parents
So what did I do? I used the incredible book, “A Letter from your Teacher on the First Day of School” by Shannon Olsen as a guide to construct my own heartfelt teacher to parent letter – this one to parents on the eve of the first day of school. To do this, I included personal details about students’ interests, parents’ concerns that had been shared with me through my Beginning of the Year Questionnaire – and a lot of my own parent heart. I would love to share this parent teacher letter with you.
Want to read more about my parent teacher relationship building?
Be sure to check out my post: 20 Questions to Ask Parents as we Return to School – and take a peek at the parent-facing products in my Teachers pay Teachers Store!
