About This Daily Classroom Special
Back to School Night  was created by former Teachers Network Web Mentor Kristi Thomas, Band Director at William F. Halley Elementary School, Fairfax Station, Virginia. 

Essentials

• Be sure the children's names are clearly marked on their desks. Have parents sit at their own child's desk. Parents enjoy experiencing your room like their children do, and it will help you to remember who is who!

• All of us had a variation of this next tip on our lists! Have an index card or sheet on each desk for the parents to tell you anything that they would like you to know about their child - interests, fears, concerns, anything they feel is important. This information is invaluable - we have all gotten some very important input from these cards or forms.

• Have the children write a letter to their parents during the day, welcoming them to the class. Brainstorm the activity with the children. Leave these letters on the desk for the parents to enjoy when they arrive. Have the parents respond, leaving the letter on the desk for the children to find the next morning.

• Have the math book or other books which the children will be using during the school year on each child's desk for the parents to view and ask questions. Have the students leave their journals, portfolios, or other work on their desk for parents to review.

• Write a homework policy letter for your classroom. Put a copy of the letter on each child's desk for the parents to take home. This same letter will be included in the take-home envelope sent the first week of school. It should include when homework is due, how it is checked, what evaluation method is used. If you are a new teacher, ask several colleagues to show you copies of their policies to give you ideas. This will help you have a bit more scope when you create your own.

• Write a discipline policy letter for your classroom. Put a copy on each child's desk for parents to take home. Explain how your classroom discipline policy works. Be familiar with the school's discipline policy, and how that might affect their child. Inform parents of available information on district-wide discipline policies.