![]() "The folder also includes all the school policies concerning just about everything such as lunchroom procedures, dismissal procedures, tardies, absences, and student dress." Tracking Home/School Communication "Because we have the school theme for the year on the cover of the folder, parents are aware of the emphasis we place on our curriculum," Stokes added. If students lose a folder, which happens rarely because of the quick turnaround, they must pay $1 to replace it. The folders cost from $.90 to $1.30, depending on the style selected by the school. Students at Weatherly Heights are given one folder at the start of the year. "The teachers like having the consistency and external organizational expectation." "From an administrator's perspective, the weekly folder keeps the teachers organized - they know that student work needs to go home on Wednesdays, and that parents call wanting to know why there wasn't any work if it's not sent," Stokes observed. They have come to rely so much on this predictable form of weekly communication that the one thing parents never fail to notice is when a folder doesn't arrive on Wednesday. Today most parents simply take the folders for granted as a part of school procedure. Initially, the weekly folders drew abundant positive feedback. The teachers, in turn, make sure that they check the folders the next day for any notes from parents." "The importance of this is stressed to the students so that they get the parents to look at the work and sign it. "The vast majority of parents sign the folder or papers at all grade levels," said Stokes. Parents either sign the folder and keep the papers or sign and return them as directed by the teacher. Volunteers may handle all but confidential materials such as student papers and grades. An Organizational ToolĮach classroom teacher gives the weekly folders out to the students, and many of the classes have parent volunteers to "stuff" the folders. Only kindergarten is excluded from the weekly routine because daily folders are sent home in this grade. Work in the folder runs from the previous Wednesday to the next Tuesday. Weatherly Heights Elementary chose Wednesday as the day for communication with parents because it allows two days for teachers to collect the folders before the weekend. The parents also know that if they don't get a folder on Wednesday, they need to check and find out why." "They know that all field trip information, picture information, money due information, etc., will arrive on this day, so they won't miss the information. ![]() "Parents have come to expect the folder each Wednesday and know that all of their children will have folders on the same day," reports Teri Stokes, Weatherly Heights' principal. Completed papers, grades, a weekly school newsletter, papers about upcoming events, and notes to parents - all of this vital school information arrives at the parents' door in a convenient package. ![]() Included: See how some schools track home/school communication through weekly folders.Įvery Wednesday, eager students head home from Weatherly Heights Elementary School in Huntsville, Alabama, with a week's worth of work for their parents to review. Need an easy and inexpensive way to reach parents with important news from your school? Many elementary and middle schools have found a simple answer - the "weekly folder." Packaging all communication from school into one folder, and sending this folder home with students on the same day each week, teaches families to watch kids' backpacks and cuts down on "missed" notes and news. Weekly Folders Deliver News from School to Home Best Books for Teachers, Students and Parents.
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