A Letter for Parents to Send to Teachers in the Fall

Let's be grateful, supportive, and clear in our expectations

Here is a template to help you write a letter to the teachers who are assigned to your kids in the fall. Feel free to tweak your letter to reflect your own thoughts and concerns. I recommend that you send it as soon as you find out who the teachers are, even before the first day of school. You might especially want to send it to your kid’s History, English, and SEL / SEEL / Employability Skills teachers. Let me know what sort of response you get, whether favorable or unfavorable. My hope is that this template will help parents to retain their authority to raise their own kids according to their own values. Let me also especially emphasize how important it is to send letters of support and encouragement to the many teachers from all across the political spectrum who do a fantastic job.

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Dear [teacher’s name],

My [son/daughter], [name], is in your [subject] class this term. I'm really glad, I'm looking forward to seeing [him/her] grow this year, and I'm confident [he/she] will learn a lot from you. Thanks for all you do for our kids!

I’m sure you’re aware that there have been concerns recently in the community about political advocacy in the schools. Because of that, I and many other concerned parents are sending this letter to our kids’ teachers this year. I want to make sure that you know how much I support you and how much I want to help you achieve a high level of academic excellence. I also want to open a clear line of communication about my expectations related to controversial topics, and especially politics, in the classroom.

Here are my expectations:

1. Please provide a lesson plan for my review if there will be class content, discussion, or assignments related to:

   • race

   • gender, gender identity, or LGBT issues

   • sexuality

   • equity

2. Please do not ask my child for [his/her] preferred pronouns, either verbally or on informational forms; instead, I suggest that you ask the students whether there is anything you should know about how they wish to be addressed

3. Please try to approach controversial topics in class along the lines of the article linked here

4. Please remove any signs or symbols of political advocacy from your classroom (e.g., a MAGA hat, a BLM flag, a rainbow flag, a Purple for Parents shirt, a Red for Ed shirt, etc.).

If any of these things will be a problem for you, don’t hesitate to inform me and we will have my child moved out of your class.

If there is anything I can do to help you, please let me know. I’m eager to see you and all of your students succeed this year, and I would be very happy if there were any way I could contribute to that or provide support for you as you navigate this difficult season.

Thanks again for all you do.

Sincerely,

[Your Name]