You know you want to do something to celebrate the theme of the month, but finding the time to prepare one more thing is overwhelming? Don’t worry — we’ve got you covered with this fun school newsletter template.

Our goal is to simplify your life by creating grab n’ go templates filled with engaging resources and ideas for lessons and units.

The theme for National Women’s History Month 2024 is Women Who Advocate for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, which honors women who speak up and are leading change in their profession. For starters, we've got links to great quotes for Women's History Month (these would be excellent as banners around the classroom). We've also got links to a variety of resources about women leading the way.

Can't really talk about women speaking up without talking about suffrage, so we've included a link to a new suffragette memorial. After that, we've got two resources with tips for how teachers can support girls in their classes to find their voice and succeed. And finally, an empowering song reinforcing the lessons in the template.

Here's to an inspiring month! Go ahead and get started below 👇🏽

Winter Doldrums? Try One of These Templates.

Banish winter blues with these 10 fun and helpful templates for all of your February needs. From holidays to snow days and everything in between.

Smore BlogKara Stern, Ph.D. | Director of Education Content | Smore

Using ESSER Funds to Improve School Communication

Wondering how to spend ESSER & Title 1 Funds? Communication technology is essential for reaching multilingual families & supporting students from at-risk communities.

Smore BlogKara Stern, Ph.D. | Director of Education Content | Smore

☕️ Busy? Here's the TL;DR

February got you down? Grab one of these templates & go!
❄️ February Weekly Update
💚 Black History Month
🧧 Lunar New Year
💝 Valentine's Day
🎩 Presidents' Day
🌨 Snow Day Template
🤧 Substitute Teacher Planner
💬 Parent Communication
🧘‍♀️ Teacher Wellness Template
☃️ Teaching About Winter

"The great grey beast February..." is hard on school folks (Valentine's Day and long weekends, nothwithstanding.) So, we've pulled together some school newsletter templates to ease you in and out of the month.

Celebrating February's Holidays

Kick it off with a Black History Month template celebrating African American arts and artists. The Lunar New Year celebration begins on the 10th, and there are many fun and fascinating ways to celebrate this Year of the Dragon.

Fast on the heels of Lunar New Year is our most lovable holiday of the year ❤️Prefer to give it an academic bent? No problem. Prefer to just have fun and eat treats? No problem. This Valentine’s school newsletter template has got you covered.

And we round out the month with yet one more holiday, President’s Day. Here's a newsletter template that offers a fun range of resources for learning about the US presidency.

“Oh, the weather outside is frightful...” 🌨

Bomb cyclones, nor‘easters, and whatever else Mother Nature throws our way can definitely interfere with February’s school schedule. Need to get the word out about snow days (or other weather-related cancellations)? Here’s a Snow Day template to get you started. Weather wreaking havoc with your staffing? Here’s a school newsletter template to keep sub plans organized and easy. And as long as we're slogging through winter, let's keep it upbeat by exploring all the fascinating aspects of the season.

Getting by with a little help from your friends

February is traditionally a challenging month for educators, so how about a February newsletter that offers a helping hand? This template has got some great resources for dealing with all sorts of parents, along with an outline for your weekly classroom newsletter. This is a school newsletter template for principals to share with teachers, all about banishing stress and burnout. Lastly, if you want to make everything easier, take the time to send families a weekly update. The more you communicate home, the easier the job is. You got this!

Here's the full set of template links:

❄️ February Weekly Update
💚 Black History Month
🧧 Lunar New Year
💝 Valentine's Day
🎩 Presidents' Day
🌨 Snow Day Template
🤧 Substitute Teacher Planner
💬 Parent Communication
🧘‍♀️ Teacher Wellness Template
☃️ Teaching About Winter

Top 10 Best Ways to Involve Families via Classroom Updates

Classroom newsletters are a key piece of ensuring students meet with success this year. It’s about building trust! Get started with these tips.

Smore BlogKara Stern, Ph.D. | Director of Education Content | Smore

Using ESSER Funds to Improve School Communication

Wondering how to spend ESSER & Title 1 Funds? Communication technology is essential for reaching multilingual families & supporting students from at-risk communities.

Smore BlogKara Stern, Ph.D. | Director of Education Content | Smore

Writing a school newsletter welcoming faculty back from summer requires a certain sleight of hand...

You have to acknowledge that vacation is ending while inspiring your team with the hope and promise of the new school year. Principals as motivational speakers!
Our Welcome Back To School newsletter template is designed to help principals walk that line.

First, find a placeholder for your opening message, along with an inspirational photo.

Up next: a big pic of the week’s schedule

Because everyone needs to know EXACTLY how much time they’ll have to set up their classrooms, amirite?!

Following the schedule is a gallery to introduce new faculty and staff. Simply switch out the photos and add a quick bio for everyone. Next up is a gallery of facilities upgrades, followed by a button linking to the district website

(So everyone can easily count the days till Winter Break 😆)

Finally, we’ve got resources.

1. Templates for your teachers, librarian, and guidance counselors to introduce themselves to families.
2. An incredible collection of links to basically everything a teacher needs to start the year off strong.
3. A song that'll inspire even the grumpiest returning faculty member.

Lastly, we've woven motivating & inspiring quotations all the way through.

Coming back is never easy, but using this template definitely is. Wishing you a healthy, calm, productive school year.

Free Meet the Teacher Template

Sending out a Meet the Teacher template to families or students is a great way to start building those all important student-teacher relationships. It gives students an opportunity to get to know you in a way that feels personal (but also in a manner totally controlled by you!)

Smore BlogDr. Kara Stern, Smore Resident Educator

Back to School Newsletter Template - Classroom Rules Poster

Here’s a template for you that offers an initial set of classroom guidelines that cover the basics of how we want students to manage themselves and their work, and how they treat others.

Smore BlogDr. Kara Stern, Smore Resident Educator

School Newsletter Template: Spicing Up Book Reports! 📚

I’ve always been a big reader, but wow, the feeling of dread that used to creep into my soul whenever I was assigned a book report... For some reason, nothing felt more tedious.

Smore BlogDr. Kara Stern, Smore Resident Educator

Want to give students the best possible shot at success this year?

So, let's ramp up classroom newsletters. Why? Research shows consistent, positive classroom communications have a significant and positive impact on student success. It leads to improved attendance, behavior, social-emotional functioning, and academic achievement. It does this by building trust at home.

With that said, here’s your countdown! 🥁

10. Best way to contact you

Of course, sharing your contact information is a no-brainer! Go a step further, and share preferences, so folks are clear. For example, “I typically read & respond to emails from 7:30 - 8am and 3 - 4pm. If you have an emergency and need an immediate response, do X, Y, Z.”

8 & 9. Explain classroom procedures

Sharing how students enter and exit the classroom at the start and end of your class and/or the school day not only gives home adults a clear picture of what your methods are like, it helps them to prompt their learners about classroom expectations.

7. Provide a useful resource

Raising kids is challenging! Share a blog post, an article, a meme that will help home adults support, understand, or challenge their learners (or even just feel seen!)

6. “Look out for…”

Alert families to upcoming deadlines, projects, class trips, exams, in-school events. Anything they should know about, even if they’re unable to participate. Sharing is a means of supporting virtual participation.

5. A monthly check-in

Although an update seems one-directional, it’s actually a means of 2-way communication. If you make it that way! By sharing a regular survey (easy via Google forms) you’re encouraging parent & caregiver input. By following up on it, you’re showing up for your families.

4. Homework heads up

“I don’t have any homework,” is the default response. Pre-empt that by explaining exactly when and what is going on with homework. Is it daily? Weekly? How is it turned in? Where can parents check?

3. “Ask your child about…”

Raise your hand if you’ve ever asked a child what’s happened in school and they answered, “Nothing.” Sharing some prompts will make it easier for parents & caregivers to have meaningful conversations with their learners.

2. What to do if their child is struggling

If we value supporting our students’ social, emotional, and academic success, we need to put it front and center. Spell it out for families: here’s what resources are available for your child at school, and here’s how to access those resources.

Ready?

🎉 1. Attendance props

The number one predictor of student success: coming to school. Create a positive, cheerleading attendance feature as part of your regular updates. Award virtual trophies, emojify it up. Do what you need to do to celebrate daily attendance and students who are showing up.

If we consider classroom updates as integral to instruction, it eventually begins to reduce teachers’ burden. And the very last tip? If you have students regularly not attending or parents/caregivers regularly not engaging, reach out. Students need to know someone cares whether or not they’re attending school.

Duplicate this template to get started!

Free Meet the Teacher Template

Sending out a Meet the Teacher template to families or students is a great way to start building those all important student-teacher relationships. It gives students an opportunity to get to know you in a way that feels personal (but also in a manner totally controlled by you!)

Smore BlogKara Stern, Ph.D. | Director of Education Content | Smore

Using ESSER Funds to Improve School Communication

Wondering how to spend ESSER & Title 1 Funds? Communication technology is essential for reaching multilingual families & supporting students from at-risk communities.

Smore BlogKara Stern, Ph.D. | Director of Education Content | Smore

Keep Families Informed with an Elementary Classroom Newsletter

Make sure elementary students have maximum support at home by sharing a weekly classroom update with families. It makes a difference!

Smore BlogKara Stern, Ph.D. | Director of Education Content | Smore

If you're googling 'best tech to buy with ESSER or Title 1 funds,' communication tech should be top of mind.

One of the lessons we’ve learned over the past few years is that it’s essential to maintain strong school-home communications – better-informed parents are more engaged and more trusting of their child's teacher. And more trusting, more engaged parents are better equipped to support their learners. With 80% of incarcerated persons high school drop outs, taking advantage of every solution we can find to keep kids in school is a moral imperative. The positive outcomes connected to home-school communication make it a no-brainer.

Here's how to use a digital classroom newsletter to ensure strong family engagement.

1. Student Learning Recovery

Teachers need an effective mechanism to deliver learning support and content to students and home adults that’s accessible, translatable, and easy to view on mobile. Since learning needs are generally not consistent across a class of students, with digital newsletters teachers can both save time AND meet individual student needs by collaborating on communications that address specific areas of remediation, or that are otherwise differentiated.

And teachers don’t have to spend time manually duplicating each other's efforts.

2. Technologies for Educational Interaction

Whether it’s library enrichment, guidance office learning support, or simply classroom units, teachers need ways to reach families and engage students. Technologies that enable classroom teachers and specialists to embed photos and video, links, docs, forms, surveys, and event reminders in mobile-friendly updates lead to higher engagement.

And no crumpled flyers at the bottom of the backpack 😉.

3. Reaching Multilingual Families

When 1 in 5 students speak a different language at home, translation features are essential. For parents to best support their learners, they need to be able to comfortably read and understand any materials or information that schools send home.

Schools need to make sure all families feel included and able to participate.

4. Provide Mental Health Services and Supports

When it comes to the emotional impact of the pandemic, it’s critical for schools to be able to share emotional support materials, surveys, and event dates with all families. Accessibility, translation features, and mobile-friendly platforms are particularly important here, as at-risk students have been more severely impacted by the emotional and financial consequences of Covid-19.

In the wake of the pandemic, home-school communication has only increased, and this is for the good. We hope schools find effective ways of reaching all their students and families with ease, consistency, and care.

If you’d like to learn more about how Smore’s digital communication platform can help your school, check out our ESSER deep dive here & our ESSER & Title 1 overview here.

Free Meet the Teacher Template

Sending out a Meet the Teacher template to families or students is a great way to start building those all important student-teacher relationships. It gives students an opportunity to get to know you in a way that feels personal (but also in a manner totally controlled by you!)

Smore BlogDr. Kara Stern, Smore Resident Educator

4 Ways to Communicate School Values Via a Weekly Newsletter

Your weekly school newsletters offer multiple opportunities to reinforce your school’s mission and values.

Smore BlogDr. Kara Stern, Smore Resident Educator

2 Tips for Tiptop Family Communication in Summertime

School newsletters in summer are essential for for helping to support families with a successful back-to-school. Get started with our ready-to-use template.

Smore BlogDr. Kara Stern, Smore Resident Educator

Coming to school is especially important in the elementary years.

Students who are chronically absent in elementary school are less likely to read on grade level, which means they are less likely to graduate from high school. But that's the bad news. The good news is the more parents and caregivers are kept in the know about what's happening at school, the more support they give their children & their children's teachers. And this leads to improved student outcomes across the board, including attendance and graduation rates.

First step? An elementary classroom newsletter.

So, what goes into an elementary classroom newsletter?

There are really two things to consider. First off, you want to think "news you can use." What information do home adults need to receive in order to best support their learner?

• The weekly schedule
• Assignments for the week
• Upcoming events

To name a few!

Second, you want to emphasis the values that are important in your classroom. One way to do that is with photos. Photos of students at work could emphasize the importance of showing up, or collaboration.

Or even just simply the learning that's happening in your room!

Get started with our Elementary Classroom Newsletter template!

It's got placeholders for all the essential bits of information you need to include, as well as extras like the lunch menu (tip: to boost parent engagement, ALWAYS include the lunch menu!) It's also got some pointers, and a link to research on the positive impact of school-home communications on students.

Duplicate and personalize in a click. For free! So, why not get started now?!

Here’s How to Welcome Your Team Back to School

Getting ready to welcome your team back to school? Here’s an informative, inspirational template to help kick off the new school year.

Smore BlogKara Stern, Ph.D. | Director of Education Content | Smore

Free Meet the Teacher Template

Sending out a Meet the Teacher template to families or students is a great way to start building those all important student-teacher relationships. It gives students an opportunity to get to know you in a way that feels personal (but also in a manner totally controlled by you!)

Smore BlogKara Stern, Ph.D. | Director of Education Content | Smore

Using ESSER Funds to Improve School Communication

Wondering how to spend ESSER & Title 1 Funds? Communication technology is essential for reaching multilingual families & supporting students from at-risk communities.

Smore BlogKara Stern, Ph.D. | Director of Education Content | Smore

It's that time again... back-to-school! Dreaded by parents, students, and faculty alike lol.

Nevertheless, here we are. And welcoming your team back with a school newsletter that's friendly, informative, and inspirational is a good way to set the tone.

Here are three essential categories for your Welcome Back newsletter.

1. Information that's Immediately Useful

When your team opens their email and sees the "Welcome Back" subject line, they may do a first cruise through with only one eye open. So, you want to make sure you get the key information across. For most people, the key info is the first week's schedule: "Just tell me when I have to show up!" The second thing everyone wants to know is, "What do I have to do?" So, if there are tasks to complete, put those front and center.

Lastly, it's great to welcome any new members of the team--it puts them at ease, and helps returning folks put names to faces.

2. Resources that set the professional tone

We recently polled Smore users about their most pressing concern for back-to-school. By an overwhelming majority, the answer was student wellness. Understandable! Whatever your priority for the year is, make sure to introduce it in your welcome back letter, by way of helpful resources.

We've added a parent communication template and a Back-to-School SEL template, both full of practical advice.

3. A healthy dose of inspiration

All joking aside, back-to-school is a bittersweet time. Everyone is excited to see each other, get their rooms in tip top shape, and, most of all, welcome students. At the same time, it's hard to say farewell to summer. So, make sure to find ways to inspire--whether it's with quotes, photos, memes, or even a Welcome Back playlist!

Your team will feel the love and it will tip the balance towards excitement. Happy Back-to-School!

Back-to-School Prep List? Check Out the ‘Meet’ Series.

The lead up to the first day of school is not easy for families. There’s a lot to be nervous about! That’s where school communications come in.

Smore BlogKara Stern, Ph.D. | Director of Education Content | Smore

Free Meet the Teacher Template

Sending out a Meet the Teacher template to families or students is a great way to start building those all important student-teacher relationships. It gives students an opportunity to get to know you in a way that feels personal (but also in a manner totally controlled by you!)

Smore BlogKara Stern, Ph.D. | Director of Education Content | Smore

Using ESSER Funds to Improve School Communication

Wondering how to spend ESSER & Title 1 Funds? Communication technology is essential for reaching multilingual families & supporting students from at-risk communities.

Smore BlogKara Stern, Ph.D. | Director of Education Content | Smore

Here's a wild statistic: 8 in 10 parents think Back-to-School is the most stressful time of year.

Between the school supplies, the first day outfit, the anxiety about class placement and a new teacher, finishing any summer assignments, getting kids to bed earlier and up earlier, packing lunches. It's a lot!

We can't actually remove the stress from parents, but we can put school communications to work helping to ease their anxiety. The more information you share about the new year, the more at ease parents will feel.

To help, we put together a series of school newsletter templates to allay as many fears as possible.

1. Meet the Principal

A Meet the Principal newsletter introduces parents and caregivers to the building leader in a personal way. It's a great opportunity to share building updates, share some fun facts about the principal, lay out a philosophy of education. If attendance is top of mind, share bullet points about the importance of showing up, every day. If social-emotional well-being is top of mind, share resources and information about how the team will be supporting student wellness this year.

Psyched to get started? Duplicate the template👇🏽

2. Meet the Teacher

Right behind Meet the Principal, Meet the Teacher is a must for every classroom teacher. Sharing basics like the first day schedule, the lunch menu, pictures of the classroom, and the teacher's background goes a long way! Include a Google form to collect the hopes and fears parents have for their learners.

This is a fundamental piece of building strong parent relationships right from the get-go.

3. Meet the Counselor(s)

Taking the time to spell out counselling resources available to students BEFORE any trouble even has a chance to brew. It will be a boon to anxious parents. They'll have the key contacts they need stored right on their phones, by way of their digital newsletter. They can point their kids in the right direction should they need help, and follow up as needed.

This goes a long way towards building school-connectedness and shows a HIGH level of caring.

(Two more to go!)

4. Meet the Librarian

School libraries are special places. If your school is lucky enough to have one, make sure to broadcast it to families early and often. Getting an early introduction to the librarian, the library, some exciting new books, library hours, and expectations is an invitation to a year of great reading.

Here's a Meet the Librarian template with a fun comic book theme 👇🏽

And now, the final template in the 'Meet' series... 🥁

5. Meet the Building

Sometimes the things that make kids and their grownups the most nervous are the basics:

• What do I do when I get off the bus?
• How will I find my classroom?
• Where are the bathrooms?

A Meet the Building school newsletter is a fun and visual way to ease nerves by giving families an inside peek at procedures. It's also the ideal place to introduce the important staff members who take care of the building!

This one is a win:win.

There you have it! 5 school newsletter templates that will go a long way towards making this year's Back-to-School as stress-free as possible!

Have a great year!

Free Meet the Teacher Template

Sending out a Meet the Teacher template to families or students is a great way to start building those all important student-teacher relationships. It gives students an opportunity to get to know you in a way that feels personal (but also in a manner totally controlled by you!)

Smore BlogKara Stern, Ph.D. | Director of Education Content | Smore

Using ESSER Funds to Improve School Communication

Wondering how to spend ESSER & Title 1 Funds? Communication technology is essential for reaching multilingual families & supporting students from at-risk communities.

Smore BlogKara Stern, Ph.D. | Director of Education Content | Smore

5 Tips for Reaching All Families

Getting parents & caregivers to read updates is a challenge! Here’s a handful of resources to help with educators’ communications pain points.

Smore BlogKara Stern, Ph.D. | Director of Education Content | Smore

We asked Smore Users for their biggest pain point when it comes to reaching all families.

🏆 In first place, 75% of respondents said it's getting home adults to read their updates.

🥈🥈🥈 And the 3-way tie for 2nd place goes to:

• Knowing what to include in updates
• Providing translatable info for updates
• The time it takes to create updates

We mined our content for just the right resources. Ready?

1. 🏆 This blog post has a key hack for getting home adults to open your updates.
2. 🥈 This blog post has ideas from teachers about what to include in your update.
3. 🥈 Accompany each embedded flyer with a sentence or two about what's in it -- that way, families will get the translated info even if the image itself isn't translated.
4. 🥈: Duplicate, duplicate, duplicate. Here's a blog post with 2 key time-saving tips.

One final tip...

The key to successful school communications is understanding that the overarching goal is to build relationships between the folks at school and the folks at home. Devise a regular feature in your update that everyone looks forward to – maybe something incentive-based or maybe something personal (your dog's meme of the month?) Students and their grownups need to know that someone at school cares. If that shines through, your engagement rates will soar.

Get started with this template and good luck! 🙌

Why You Should Write a Welcome Back from Spring Break Newsletter!

One good way to make sure students return from spring break is to send a Welcome Back from Spring Break newsletter filled with key info and good cheer.

Smore BlogKara Stern, Ph.D. | Director of Education Content | Smore

3 Reasons Weekly Class Updates Boost Attendance

There’s no magic bullet for absenteeism, but there are simple steps schools can take to help. One is sending a digital, translatable weekly class newsletter.

Smore BlogKara Stern, Ph.D. | Director of Education Content | Smore

Free Meet the Teacher Template

Sending out a Meet the Teacher template to families or students is a great way to start building those all important student-teacher relationships. It gives students an opportunity to get to know you in a way that feels personal (but also in a manner totally controlled by you!)

Smore BlogKara Stern, Ph.D. | Director of Education Content | Smore

Fun fact: emails with the word "Welcome" in the subject line get 80% more opens.

So, one great way to make sure students (& their home adults) are prepared for the return from spring break is to send a school newsletter welcoming them back. In addition to providing essential information, a Welcome Back from Spring Break newsletter is important because it conveys a message of belongingness. It says: "You child is wanted here." And feel connected to school is the key to undoing absenteeism.

Just the facts, ma'am.

Your welcome back newsletter should contain some key pieces of information. We suggest:

1. The date of return
2. The schedule for the first week back
3. The lunch menu for the first week back
4. Important upcoming events
5. Some celebration of teachers or students
6. A parent resource

A few last tips.

Remember, if you include flyers the information in them won't get translated. Be sure to add a caption summarizing the info in the flyer, so all families feel included. Last, how the building leader communicates sets the tone for everyone else in the building. Make sure your welcome back from spring break newsletter reflects the values you want it to. You can read more about that here.

Get started with this template and have a great spring break! 🏖

3 Reasons Weekly Class Updates Boost Attendance

There’s no magic bullet for absenteeism, but there are simple steps schools can take to help. One is sending a digital, translatable weekly class newsletter.

Smore BlogKara Stern, Ph.D. | Director of Education Content | Smore

4 Easy Steps to Writing an Equitable Classroom Newsletter

Why send a classroom newsletter if all your intended readers can’t access it? Use this simple check for equity to help you reach all families.

Smore BlogKara Stern, Ph.D. | Director of Education Content | Smore

2 Easy Steps to Get Your Faculty Ready for a Snow Day

Before the weather even thinks of getting crazy, send your faculty a principal snow day message so everyone is clear on the protocols.

Smore BlogKara Stern, Ph.D. | Director of Education Content | Smore

Why limit yourself to a day, when you could have a whole week of Read Across America activities?!

We put together a template with suggestions for each day of the first week of March, but you could easily stretch this across the entire month and really celebrate National Reading Month!

Monday:

Kick things off with daily book talks, designed to whet your students' appetites for books that might not be on their radar. You might also have students who would like to give book talks – give bonus points for coming in costume! The first day of Read Across America Week is the perfect day for inspiring stories. Since it's also National Women's History Month, how about stories of women trailblazers?

Nothing like empowering the next generation of go-getters!

Tuesday:

Have you heard about Novel Engineering? That's where you read a book (or read aloud a book) and then have students solve a real-world engineering problem they identify in the book. They can use simple materials – cardboard, string, glue, tape, straws – to come up with a solution.

It's STEM skills and literacy skills all in one!

Wednesday:

It's Wacky Wednesday! Wear crazy hats or silly socks and read funny books. Learn from an author how exactly to structure a joke, and get students writing their own. Perhaps there's a future comedian in the room?

(If so, you probably don't want to know about it 🤣)

Thursday:

Here it is! The actual Read Across America Day! Go all out and dress up like a book character. Encourage your students to do the same (and make sure you communicate this home well in advance in your Weekly Update!) Work with your team to stage a building-wide festival, like:

🔥 A book campout in the gym or auditorium
👩🏽‍🏫 A room-to-room with guest readers (including a Mystery Masked Reader!)
👯‍♀️ Book buddies!

It's sure to leave everyone feeling good 🥰

Friday:

You've done so much good reading, now it's time to get your students writing. Surely, there's a budding novelist, journalist, essayist, or (more likely) social media manager in your classroom! Don those berets, dip your quills in your inkpots, choose the perfect prompt, and write. End the day with a student author event, autographs too!

Cap the week off by sharing highlights with families in your weekly update – and include a reading resource for them, too! Every bit helps.

Severe Weather School Closures? Here’s a Template to Get the Word Out.

Building & district leaders need a way to get the word out fast about weather-related school closures – and a school newsletter is perfect for that.

Smore BlogKara Stern, Ph.D. | Director of Education Content | Smore

3 Reasons Weekly Class Updates Boost Attendance

There’s no magic bullet for absenteeism, but there are simple steps schools can take to help. One is sending a digital, translatable weekly class newsletter.

Smore BlogKara Stern, Ph.D. | Director of Education Content | Smore

4 Easy Steps to Writing an Equitable Classroom Newsletter

Why send a classroom newsletter if all your intended readers can’t access it? Use this simple check for equity to help you reach all families.

Smore BlogKara Stern, Ph.D. | Director of Education Content | Smore

Why send a classroom newsletter if all your intended readers can't access it?

That's why a simple check for equity is valuable. Think of it like a pre-flight checklist. You wouldn't want a pilot to skimp on that, would you?

As a reminder, the difference between equity and equality is like the difference between a building with a ramp and a building without one. Without a ramp, everyone has the same door to enter, but for some, reaching that door poses real challenges. The ramp means folks with mobility challenges can enter the building as easily as folks without.

Here's a visual:

First up on the equity checklist: clarity.

As you scan your update for clarity, here's what you should look for:

1. Headers ✅
2. Bullets & numbered lists ✅
3. Alt text with every image ✅
4. Subject line guideposts ✅

#4 means writing subject lines that alert readers to important items inside the update. For example, "Need to Know Info for Monday's Field Trip" vs. "4th Grade News." If you want to learn more about this, check out our blog post on writing great subject lines.

Next up: translatability.

Beyond the question of whether or not your school newsletter is translatable, do you:

1. Include directions for how to access the translation tool?
2. Include explanatory text along with flyers, since those aren't translatable?

If there are segments of your class newsletter that don't translate, only some of the information is making it home.

The third box to check is mobility.

Is your update:

1. Posted everywhere your readers are?
2. Easy to read on mobile? It is? How do you know? Did you send yourself a test email and read it on your phone? Go ahead and try it! If you see long blocks of text, I guarantee you it's not easy to read on mobile... Just look at this example 👇🏽

Did you know 85% of folks access email on their cell phones? The fact is, if you're not explicitly writing for that (palm-sized) medium, you're putting blockers in your readers' way.

The 4th box to check is connectivity.

This one is a little more subjective. It asks you to question if you're creating a sense of the personal in your classroom newsletter. Ask yourself: "What in my update gives families the idea I know & care for my students?" Ask yourself: "In what ways do I bring families into my classroom?"And a final, more concrete question: do you offer your readers multiple options for how to connect with you?

If you checked all the boxes, way to go! Need a template? Get started here 👇🏽

Using ESSER Funds to Improve School Communication

Wondering how to spend ESSER & Title 1 Funds? Communication technology is essential for reaching multilingual families & supporting students from at-risk communities.

Smore BlogKara Stern, Ph.D. | Director of Education Content | Smore

3 Reasons Weekly Class Updates Boost Attendance

There’s no magic bullet for absenteeism, but there are simple steps schools can take to help. One is sending a digital, translatable weekly class newsletter.

Smore BlogKara Stern, Ph.D. | Director of Education Content | Smore

Severe Weather School Closures? Here’s a Template to Get the Word Out.

Building & district leaders need a way to get the word out fast about weather-related school closures – and a school newsletter is perfect for that.

Smore BlogKara Stern, Ph.D. | Director of Education Content | Smore

Student absences cost schools $10.7 billion per year.

Beyond the staggering dollar loss to schools, there is the staggering cost to the students themselves — in terms of performance, self-efficacy, and future employment prospects. While there is no easy fix, a simple school newsletter can make a difference.

Let’s break it down 👇🏽

1. A weekly class newsletter gets the basic info to families.

It might sound obvious, but actually not everyone knows to check the website or has internalized the school year schedule. Families new to the area or the US (or to English), or who are unable to participate in PTA or other school functions, might not know exactly what’s going on or who to ask. A weekly class newsletter that specifies when students are due at school & what to do if there’s a closure goes a long way.

Key point: make sure it’s translatable!

2. A consistent cadence helps build trust with families.

A school newsletter can be a proxy for a relationship. In the absence of actual 1:1, when a teacher’s update shows up in a parent’s inbox at the same time each week, with vital info, it takes the place of a conversation. The parent or caregiver begins to rely on receiving that information and it shifts their relationship to the teacher.

In short: it builds trust.

3. Regular class newsletters allow parents & caregivers to support their children in all the right ways.

If parents don’t know what’s going on in their child’s classes, they can’t support their learning in any concrete way. If their child is struggling, they might not know what help is available to them. Simply including regular info about assignments and school support systems is a great way to get the information home. And research is clear that consistent school communications improves student attendance, behavior, and performance.

If a writing weekly class newsletter meant an uptick in NAEP scores, you’d do it, wouldn’t you? Get started here👇🏽

Using ESSER Funds to Improve School Communication

Wondering how to spend ESSER & Title 1 Funds? Communication technology is essential for reaching multilingual families & supporting students from at-risk communities.

Smore BlogKara Stern, Ph.D. | Director of Education Content | Smore

Educators’ Top Communication Tips of 2022: A Look Back

It’s Best Of List time! So, we turned to the experts -- educators -- for the best school communication tips of 2022. Here’s what they said.

Smore BlogKara Stern, Ph.D. | Director of Education Content | Smore

Severe Weather School Closures? Here’s a Template to Get the Word Out.

Building & district leaders need a way to get the word out fast about weather-related school closures – and a school newsletter is perfect for that.

Smore BlogKara Stern, Ph.D. | Director of Education Content | Smore

Before the weather even thinks of getting crazy, you need to send your faculty a principal snow day message.

Why? Because not everyone knows what's expected of them on a snow day, and that means some families won't get key communications. With a little advance planning, you can ensure that your team knows exactly what to do when a snow day is called.

Ready? Let's go!

Tip #1. Show your faculty how to be very clear

You wouldn't think that "today" or "tomorrow" are vague words, but you'd be surprised at how many parents will say to themselves, "By tomorrow, does she actually mean today or tomorrow?" 🤣 When teachers send out a Snow Day school newsletter, it should have specific information in the title.

You can see for yourself, in the examples below, which is clearest:

Tip #2. Decide what kind of snow days you're going to have

You have three basic options:

1. Synchronous learning (via Zoom or another similar platform)
2. Asynchronous learning (posting assignments on Google Classroom, or some such)
3. Classic snow day (pancakes, sledding & hot chocolate) but give parents a break and share a resource or two!

Teachers should know in advance if they're teaching, grading, or Netflix & chilling.

And that's it! Two tips to ensure that timely communications reach families in uncertain times.

Severe Weather School Closures? Here’s a Template to Get the Word Out.

Building & district leaders need a way to get the word out fast about weather-related school closures – and a school newsletter is perfect for that.

Smore BlogKara Stern, Ph.D. | Director of Education Content | Smore

We Asked & They Answered: Key Items Teachers Include in Their School Newsletters

Starting from scratch is never easy. So, we surveyed teachers on Twitter about what they include in their school newsletters. We got some great suggestions!

Smore BlogKara Stern, Ph.D. | Director of Education Content | Smore

Educators’ Top Communication Tips of 2022: A Look Back

It’s Best Of List time! So, we turned to the experts -- educators -- for the best school communication tips of 2022. Here’s what they said.

Smore BlogKara Stern, Ph.D. | Director of Education Content | Smore

We're careening from storm to storm, which means weather-related school closures.

Building & district leaders need a way to get the word out fast – and a school newsletter is perfect for that. Our severe weather school closure template has placeholders for all the key info you need to keep your community up-to-date. To get started, make sure to put the key info right in the title and be specific.

Which of the templates 👇🏽 is the easiest to understand?

Make sure folks know how to access school closure info.

Besides the bulletin you're sending out, how else can families access info? Is it posted on your website? Is there a way to get text alerts? What about via the school's MNS? Or even a local radio station! Right at top of your school newsletter, make sure to share how folks can access school closure info in the event of severe weather. You'll likely have more than one weather-related closure, so make sure to keep duplicating this info.

It'll take some folks a few repetitions 😉

What kind of stay-at-home day will it be?

You've got some choices! Traditional snow day, synchronous remote learning, or asynchronous remote learning. If you're not sure, here's a good post about what other folks are doing! If you're choosing synchronous, post the invite. If you're choosing asynchronous, let families know how to access the schoolwork. And if it's just a good old classic snow day, how about including some resources for parents & caregivers?

Whichever one you go with, the more info the better.

And if you really want to get creative, you can follow this principal's example 🤣

Get started here 👇🏽

Educators’ Top Communication Tips of 2022: A Look Back

It’s Best Of List time! So, we turned to the experts -- educators -- for the best school communication tips of 2022. Here’s what they said.

Smore BlogKara Stern, Ph.D. | Director of Education Content | Smore

3 Ways Educators Use Rewards to Increase Newsletter Engagement

We asked educators to share a school newsletter engagement hack with us. Surprise! Turns out almost a quarter of them use rewards. Read on to learn more.

Smore BlogKara Stern, Ph.D. | Director of Education Content | Smore

One Creative Way to Welcome Back Families? Make a Playlist!

Hook your readers by opening your school newsletter with a Spotify playlist. Choose songs that express your message & show your sense of creativity and fun.

Smore BlogKara Stern, Ph.D. | Director of Education Content | Smore