Given the need for principals, teachers, and parents to communicate clearly with each other about issues related to students’ care and education, the need for a parent handbook has never been more important.

In operating a school, like any business, it is wise to put your policies in writing so there can be no questions about your intentions when a situation arises.  A handbook of policies makes your position clear, and it can also be a guiding document for you in operating your school. In satisfying regulatory standards why not create a one-stop guide to your program for parents’ reference?  A parent handbook can be conceptualized as one key component of a comprehensive parent communication plan that can include the following:

• Parent letters
• Parent bulletin board
• Parenting workshops
• Parent newsletter
• A center web site with classroom pages
• Parent meetings
• Parent association or advisory council
• Parent resource center/lending library

In developing a parent handbook, you will want to consider its multiple purposes as well as your intended audience: enrolled families.  As you consider all of the communication vehicles available to you, you will want to determine how you feel it would be best to share information with your particular families.  Instead of producing a lengthy parent handbook, consider placing some nonessential details on your center web site or post them on a parent board.  These might include details about your nutritional program, accreditation procedures and criteria, and other parent education pieces of your handbook.  Here is a list of some content you might want/need to include in your handbook.  Consider what is required and what is desirable to include in your handbook, and organize these in a way that makes sense to you.  I have clustered topics in a way that makes sense to me; you may see thing differently.

• Contact information
• Program philosophy
• Curriculum
• Staff listing
• Program policies and procedures
• Admissions
  • Welcome letter from the principal
  • School calendar, including holidays, teacher-in-service days, and parent-teacher conferences
  • Rights and responsibilities of the parents
  • APBA (or other) accreditation
  • Enrollment requirements

General policies

• Attendance
• Pictures
• Building map/drop-off and pick-up area
• Hours of operation
• Sign in/out policy
• Release policy
• Open-door policy
• Emergency procedures
• Arrival and departure
• Parking
• Game boys, toys, and other objects from home
• General safety procedures
• Security
• Supplies
• Medications
• Expulsion and suspension
• Child abuse prevention and reporting
• Grievance procedure

Children’s program

• Assessment
• Clothing
• Religious practices
• Daily schedule
• Nutrition: meals and snacks, allergies, and food restrictions
• Playground rules
• Special activities, field trips, visitors
• Children with special needs
• Celebrations and holidays
• Guidance and discipline
• Early release

Parenting resources

• The child’s adjustment to school
• Community referrals
• Parent involvement opportunities, fundraisers, donations, volunteering
• Parent-teacher communication
  • daily reports for some students
  • weekly curriculum announcements
  • weekly snack calendar
  • monthly calendar
  • e-mail updates
  • parent mailboxes
  • parent conferences

You’ll also want to include a signature page with each handbook for parents to acknowledge their receipt of the information.

Which Format to Use?

There are a variety of formats you can use in compiling a parent handbook.  Typically, schools save money by copying black and white stapled booklets.  Others add a binding or colored cover to dress it up.  Still others experiment with multi-colored packets in different formats.

One of the chief complaints principals have about parent handbooks is that the content frequently changes, necessitating the creation of a whole new handbook.  For this reason, some programs use three-ring binders with removable pages to address the dynamic nature of this project; when information changes, parents receive a new page with instruction on where to place it in their binder.  Adding tabs helps parents navigate the handbook more easily, allowing them to find the information they are looking for quickly and easily.  When you add these navigation tools, you communicate to parents that you want them to consider the handbook as a guide…and to use it!

In addition to being an accurate and comprehensive guide to your program, parent handbooks should be user-friendly.  Parents are busy people who want convenience.  When compiling your handbook, consider making it available in the parents’ native language.

Additional Tips

When creating a parent handbook for your school, remember the following watchwords:

• Be inclusive.  Be sure that the handbook includes all essential information about your program that families would want or need.
• Keep it simple.  State your policies as simply and clearly as possible.  You want families to understand what you are trying to communicate.
• Keep their interest.  Use illustrations, clip art, and attractive graphics to convey a professional and yet fun image and break up blocks of text.
• Make it easy to read. Parents are busy people.  They want a quick and easy reference guide for school policies with clear headings for each section.

A parent handbook can be an effective communication tool when used as part of a comprehensive approach to partnering with families.  Using this article as a guide, consider how your handbook communicates —or does not communicate—your best intention with regard to caring for students and how it could be reorganized or rewritten to build a stronger bridge between your school and families. 

Sandy Houston is a cofounder and past board member of the Arizona Charter School Association, as well as founder of the Arizona Montessori Charter Schools Consortium. She has owned and operated charter schools over a career spanning 35 years, and has opened 7 charter schools. She was trained in the Montessori method by Mario Montessori, the son of the famed Montessori founder, Dr. Maria Montessori. You can reach her at shouston@resolutions-esp.com.