Sample letter to parents introducing yourself as their childs teacher and including a

shortened version of your vision.

Dear Mr. and Mrs. [last name here],
Hi! Im Mr. Miller, your [son/daughters] 10th grade pre-diploma IB English teacher. Im really
looking forward to getting to know [students name here] in class, and you should expect to be
hearing back from me from time to time about how [hes/shes] doing.
I have a few different goals with this class, and since we, as teachers, always do our best work
with the support of students families, I want to give you a brief summary of them so youll have
an idea of what were working on in class and how to support [students name here] in their
efforts.
Firstly, I will be stressing personal responsibility on the part of the students, and I have a few
policies to keep in mind. I emphasize that students should do the utmost to minimize their own
excuses. This does not mean that students should refrain from speaking to me if they are falling
behind or need support; it takes maturity to initiate those conversations with me, and I actively
encourage them. However, students should take proactive measures whenever possible to avoid
the need to speak to me in the first place. I will not seek students out for missing assignments. It
will be up to them to keep track of their own grades and speak up about anomalies or a need for
extra support. I am much more willing to work with students struggling to meet deadlines when I
receive an email from them about their difficulties days in advance than when I hear about them
the period after an assignment was due.
I also try to promote personal responsibility in class. I do not answer a students question about
what a word means; rather, I direct them to a dictionary so they develop the habit of finding the
answers they need autonomously. The resources available to them are exponentially increasing,
and they need to realize that many of their problems are easily solved if they simply take the
initiative to do so.
A major curricular goal of mine is to teach students to develop an appreciation for subtext.
Everything is an argument; the skills students develop for analyzing literature in this class are
applicable outside the realm of verbal communication. Visual art, advertisements, music, games,
body language, fashion, architecture, they all send implicit thematic messages. Students should
come away from an English education with an analytical mindset which enables them to interpret
any form of expression given enough knowledge of its conventions.
I have yet to mention grades, the reason being that I find them to be of secondary importance. I
view grading as a tool for instruction, a means to an end. That end is more significant than an
impressive GPA on a resume. I will use grades to push students to meet their potential rather than
to rate them as human beings, and the distinction can be hard for students of this age to
understand. I would ask that you follow suit, encouraging students not on the basis of raising a B
to an A but on the basis of developing worthwhile skills and bettering themselves. It may seem
paradoxical, but de-emphasizing grades in this way will actually improve grades and test scores,
because the focus will fall instead on the real-life skills and practices that lead to those outcomes.

I would like to thank you in advance for your support of your student and their education. I may
be an expert on my content and pedagogy, but you are the worlds leading experts on your child!
We both want what is best for [students name], so I hope we can build a communicative and
trusting working relationship and help [him/her] become a happy, successful person.
All the best,
Geoffrey Miller

Sample letter to a parent/guardian for a learner in your class who is not performing well
academically with suggestions for improvement.
Dear Mr. and Mrs. [last name here],
Hello again! I want to give you an update on Katies progress in English class, and I would like
to hear your thoughts on what I have to say. I spoke to her today, so this letter home should be no
surprise to her and she should already be aware of the gist of it.
First of all, I really enjoy having Katie in class. She is attentive, insightful, and she has a very
positive attitude which does wonders for the environment of the classroom. I genuinely believe
that her positivity helps create a unique environment in her class period that helps her and other
students learn. I have no concerns about her attitude or her ability to engage course content.
I do share your concern regarding Katies grade in this class, which, as you know, is a 72%.
While Katie has struggled with a few assessments, like our unit test in grammar, I personally
think that our first priority should be improving the rate at which she turns in assignments. As
with many students like her, she is very busy outside of school; it happens a lot when a gifted
student finds that they have many talents and try to pursue as many of them as possible. Let her
know that, if she foresees a period of an overwhelming workload, I encourage her to contact me
early to seek extra support. While her schoolwork should be a high priority, I also understand
that sometimes a perfect storm of responsibilities can result in sleep deprivation, illness, and any
number of other problems which are more trouble than theyre worth.
In the absence of such an anomalous period, we do need for Katie to ensure her assignments are
submitted in a timely manner. Many of the points she has lost have been the result of something
slipping her mind, a failure to write something down, an incorrect recollection of a due date,
tasks for which Katie must hold herself responsible. My goal for Katie is to remember to write
down the assignments for the day and ensure they are correct every time. My suggestion to her,
with which she seemed to agree, was to make a small checklist for herself in her planner which
would remind her to take care to copy assignments and due dates down every time. This way, she
would also be able to see which classes she forgot and stand a chance of rectifying that situation
before the end of the school day. If this is the plan she decides to implement, asking to see her
list at the end of a day to make sure she is remembering to use it would be very helpful.
Let me know if you have any additional thoughts on the subject and if you decide on a plan of
action. I trust Katie to do her best, and I think her grade will improve as a result of her efforts.

Thank you for your continued support!

Mr. Miller

Letter to principal introducing yourself and asking for an interview.

Dear Principal _________,

Hi, my name is Geoffrey Miller. I am currently a Teacher Candidate at Arizona State Universitys
Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College, and I plan to graduate at the end of June with a degree in
Secondary Education, English. I am applying for a position as an English teacher at
________________ High School, and I would be very happy to interview with you and even
invite you to come observe my teaching if your time permits.
I have studied, worked, and volunteered in a variety of settings during my education to develop
the skills and awareness I will need as a teacher. I feel I owe it to any future student of mine to
enter their lives as prepared as possible, not only versed in the content and instructional methods,
but also in empathy and the ability to foster functional teacher-student relationships with a wide
variety of individuals. While this will be my first teaching position, I have experience with
classroom management from student teaching, internships, and service learning, one-on-one
tutoring experience in writing and other subjects from several different positions, and a
knowledge of grammar and literary criticism comparable to that of veteran teachers.
I believe in encouraging student-centered efforts at self-improvement rather than teaching by
rote. Standardized tests are only meant to assess tokens of student achievement that correlate
with success in collegiate academia, not the vast variety of language skills that will be required
of them across the spectrum of their future careers. Studies have shown that self-motivated
students with the tools to accomplish their own goals perform better on tests than students taught
exclusively to the tests. My teaching style is designed to promote critical thinking and personal
responsibility. I hope to empower students to question what they are told, even what I myself
teach them.
I believe I would contribute positively to the academic environment of ____________. It is a
position from which I hope to help amazing, genuine human beings grow and develop. Thank
you for your consideration.
Geoffrey Miller