Meet the Teacher Night

How to have a Successful Meet the Teacher Night

Back to school time and meet the teacher is just around the corner! One of the most important things we do at the beginning of the year is to share our classroom information with students and families.

Everything from classroom expectations, homework, specials schedules, snacks, arrival & dismissal procedures… you name it. There’s A TON! Now, imagine a parent with kids in multiple grade levels. All of that information for multiple kids and multiple classrooms. WHOA.

Let’s talk about how to make all of this information less daunting for ALL parties involved!

Tip #1: Gradual Release of Information

As teachers, it’s essential that we provide student and families with a gradual release of information. You can’t put 10-15 pages of important information in a folder for Meet the Teacher Night and expect parents to get it all.

Seriously, I have ONE child in DAYCARE and I missed 2 important details on her summer school calendar. The overload is real, and I wasn’t even overloaded on the information from her school.

I’m not saying you can’t give them all of the information. Make a plan of what you need to share and when you need to share it. What things can wait a week or two? Maybe you don’t send homework the first few weeks of school. Then wait to share your homework policy until kids have been in school a week or two! That’s just an example, but I’m sure you can think of information that you can hold off for a bit!

Tip #2: Say Goodbye To Class Handbooks

My first year of teaching I created this 4-5 page classroom handbook that went over all of my classroom information. I think I was lucky if half of my families read all of it! I learned from that one document I like to provide during our back-to-school open house or meet the teacher night are these classroom brochures with teacher contact cards! These provide a super quick and easy way for me to give families the most important information.

Plus, I laminate and add an adhesive magnet to the teacher contact cards so families can put my information on their refrigerator at home!

Tip #3: Send Meet the Teacher Letters Before Back to School!

Another thing I like to send to students and families before I meet them is this {free} Meet the Teacher letter! It’s perfect to pop in the mail a few weeks before school starts so your students can get to know you. You can even add a little “About Me” page for your students to fill out if you want to get them involved already!

Want your own free copy of my Meet the Teacher template? Click here & leave your email to get it in your inbox & join the Resource Library! If you’re already an email subscriber & have the Free Resource Library password, you can head there to download!