School Visits

More Tips on School Visits

School visits can help you…

Learn about what your children need to succeed in school
Identify needs of your child’s school. You might be able to help out to address these needs or you might be able to solicit community support to address them.
Develop strong working relationships with your principal, parent leaders, and school staff.
Identify what you can try at home to support learning

Before a visit, you should consider that:

It is most informative to see a “normal” day at a school, rather than attending only special events or meetings.
Principals and school staff may be anxious about your visit if they are unclear about your purpose for visiting. Please explain the purpose of your visit and put your request in writing if you are asked to do so.
During a school day, the priority for the teachers, administrative staff, and principal is the instructional program for children.
We encourage parents to seek volunteer opportunities for school visits that will last longer than one classroom period.
Any school visitor can be a disruption to the instructional program for children. Do not interrupt classroom lessons to ask the teacher questions or talk to your child. If your child is having problems with a classmate, do not visit the classroom to “straighten things out.” Meet with the principal instead.

Each time you visit a school, it is an opportunity to develop effective working relationships with the principal, school staff, and parents.

If the school asks you to put your visit request in writing, you should do so. Here’s a letter template:

[INSERT DATE]

[INSERT NAME OF PRINCIPAL], Principal
[INSERT NAME OF SCHOOL]
[INSERT SCHOOL ADDRESS]

Dear [INSERT NAME OF PRINCIPAL],

I am interested in visiting the school and observing my child’s class. My child, [INSERT NAME OF CHILD], is in [INSERT NAME OF TEACHER]’s class. I would like to visit the classroom on [INSERT DATE] at [INSERT TIME]. [INSERT REASON WHY YOU WANT TO VISIT OR A WAY IN WHICH YOU MIGHT BE HELPFUL DURING YOUR VISIT. FOR EXAMPLE, “I UNDERSTAND THE CLASS WILL BE WORKING ON A SOCIAL STUDIES PROJECT AND I’M WILLING TO HELP OUT IN ANY WAY I CAN DURING MY VISIT.]

I’ll follow up with the parent coordinator to find out if you have approved my visit to the class on [INSERT DATE OF VISIT].

Thank you for your time and attention. I look forward to visiting the school and finding a way to support the school in my spare time.

Best,
[INSERT YOUR NAME]

	School Visits More Tips on School Visits School visits can help you… Learn about what your children need to succeed in school Identify needs of your child’s school. You might be able to help out to address these needs or you might be able to solicit community support to address them. Develop strong working relationships with your principal, parent leaders, and school staff. Identify what you can try at home to support learning Before a visit, you should consider that: It is most informative to see a “normal” day at a school, rather than attending only special events or meetings. Principals and school staff may be anxious about your visit if they are unclear about your purpose for visiting. Please explain the purpose of your visit and put your request in writing if you are asked to do so. During a school day, the priority for the teachers, administrative staff, and principal is the instructional program for children. We encourage parents to seek volunteer opportunities for school visits that will last longer than one classroom period. Any school visitor can be a disruption to the instructional program for children. Do not interrupt classroom lessons to ask the teacher questions or talk to your child. If your child is having problems with a classmate, do not visit the classroom to “straighten things out.” Meet with the principal instead. Each time you visit a school, it is an opportunity to develop effective working relationships with the principal, school staff, and parents. If the school asks you to put your visit request in writing, you should do so. Here’s a letter template: [INSERT DATE] [INSERT NAME OF PRINCIPAL], Principal [INSERT NAME OF SCHOOL] [INSERT SCHOOL ADDRESS] Dear [INSERT NAME OF PRINCIPAL], I am interested in visiting the school and observing my child’s class. My child, [INSERT NAME OF CHILD], is in [INSERT NAME OF TEACHER]’s class. I would like to visit the classroom on [INSERT DATE] at [INSERT TIME]. [INSERT REASON WHY YOU WANT TO VISIT OR A WAY IN WHICH YOU MIGHT BE HELPFUL DURING YOUR VISIT. FOR EXAMPLE, “I UNDERSTAND THE CLASS WILL BE WORKING ON A SOCIAL STUDIES PROJECT AND I’M WILLING TO HELP OUT IN ANY WAY I CAN DURING MY VISIT.] I’ll follow up with the parent coordinator to find out if you have approved my visit to the class on [INSERT DATE OF VISIT]. Thank you for your time and attention. I look forward to visiting the school and finding a way to support the school in my spare time. Best, [INSERT YOUR NAME]