2 Tips for Tiptop Summer Communications with Families
☕️ Busy? Here's the TL;DR
- Keeping in touch with families in summertime makes for a more successful back-to-school.
- Keep it Summer Fridays casual, with updates about what's going on in the building, calendar reminders, and summer resources for parents.
- Share a little about your own summer downtime. Get started here.
School newsletters in summer go a long way towards giving families a successful back-to-school experience.
Why? Because research shows that school-home communications is key to student achievement:
➡️ The more you engage families in the school community, the more trust you build with them.
➡️ The more trust you build, the more they will support your decisions & the decisions of their child’s teachers.
➡️ The more parents trust those decisions, the more success their child will have in school.
It’s a win-win.
1. Aim for "Casual Fridays" with your summer communications
Since it’s summer, you can take a more light-hearted tone. You’re going to want to share updates about what’s happening in the building, or with new staffing. It’s always worthwhile to repeat calendar reminders, and it’s helpful to include parenting resources, too. Use the opportunity to showcase your program & give parents a "feel-good."
Connect with folks by sharing a little bit about what you’re up to, as well.
2. When & how you share updates is important, too.
Get into a rhythm with your summer updates — if you share them at the same time each week, or biweekly, parents will anticipate the updates, which helps with engagement. Use your subject line intentionally, highlighting different items in the subject line of each update. If your updates are translatable, make sure to periodically explain how to translate them. This allows multilingual families to have equal access.
Last, include your contact info and invite folks to stop by.
You can get started with this free summertime school newsletter template! 😎