In most cases, a student with an IEP in place receives either a daily or weekly Home Note from the Special Education Teacher. A Home Note can range from wordy to wordless. It can contain a checklist of activities completed, notes about daily events, behavior concerns or improvements, talk about academic, social, life skills challenges or accomplishments. No matter what it says, it is almost always completed by the student’s teacher. There may even be input from therapists or inclusion teachers.

This all sounds terrific. Parents expect this. Teachers are required to send the note home. However, in reality, with our very busy days, we may not even have five minutes to begin, no less complete it. Parents do have the right to know about their child’s day and it is even of greater importance for younger or nonverbal students.

Personally, I tend to be a wordy type of person and used to write a novel home each day. It was a noble try, but I had a really hard time keeping up and making sure that Home Note was safely placed in each child’s folder before they walked out the door.

How can I write an effective Home Note in 10 words or less?

By using simple communication between parent and teacher, the family gets a glimpse into their child’s school day. Use arrows, color coded circles, check marks, bubble in, highlight, or checked boxes, to let the parents know the prompt level that the child needed to meaningfully participate in large group activities, math lessons, or even recess.

Schedule more frequent conferences, either on the phone or in person.

So much more can be conveyed in person than in a note and it will help to build strong teacher/parent relationships.

Be honest.

If the day just got away from you, there’s no need to share that other students required an inordinate amount of your attention today. If you simply have run out of hours in the day, let mom and dad know in advance that a day may be skipped, but that if anything out of the ordinary occurs with their child, you’ll be sure to let them know.

What about if the parent wants full details sent home with their child daily?

As I’ve said earlier, while a Home Note is usually required and marked as such on an IEP, the length and number of details are not stated. They must receive what is required by law. Again, be honest and explain the amount of time per child that it takes to complete this type of form. You’d much rather, and they would too, spend the time teaching their child.

FREEBIE for you! Now that you have read these tips, please click the link below to take you to a fully editable version of a simple, color coded Home Note for you to try!

Click here to download the FREE Home Note!

Thank you and have a wonderful learning year ahead!

Debbie Singer