How to Write a Letter of Concern to a Child's Teacher

Often times, parents will encounter situations with their children and school that must be addressed. Whether it's bullying, an unfair teacher, or something else, your first step should be to communicate with your child's teacher. A teacher is the caretaker of your child for hours each day and it's important for you to feel secure approaching her. The goal of this article is to examine the etiquette for writing a letter of concern to your child's teacher and important elements that should be included.

Instructions

1. Plan your letter before beginning to write it. List the concerns you're having with your child, events that may have happened and how you found out about those events or came to have those concerns. Think about what solution you would like to see and how that might be accomplished. Consider that your goal is to work together with your child's teacher for the benefit of your child.

2. Create a draft of your letter on the scrap paper before typing it. Address the letter in the same way that your child addresses his or her teacher. For instance, 'Mr. Carey' or 'Ms. Beth.'

3. Start the body of your letter by explaining to the teacher why you're writing. You might state that you have some concerns about your child or that there are some issues you'd like to address regarding your child.

4. Explain the reasons for your concerns. This might include events that have happened, things your child has told you, things you've witnessed or something else. This part is where you let the teacher know what is bothering you.

5. Let the teacher know what your proposed solutions are and how you think they could be accomplished.

6. Let the teacher know that you're willing to cooperate with her and would like to work together to solve the problem. An example might be, "I trust your judgment as an experienced child educator and would like to work with you in order to prevent this from happening again."

7. Close by letting the teacher know how to get in contact with you and thank her for her cooperation. Transfer the finished and proofread letter to the word processor document and print it out.

Tips & Warnings

• Remain polite and professional through the entire letter. Hostility will not accomplish as much as open communication.

References

• Tips on Writing to Teachers

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish
• Communicating with School through Letters