Getting the Neighborhood Involved in Open House

If you have a copy of the Elementary Principal’s Handbook published by the ACSA Elementary Council several years ago, pull it off the shelf and look in the “Community” section, page V.6 and V.7. There are examples of letters developed several years ago by John Blaydes. One letter (V.6) is for giving to your school’s parents, asking them to “invite a neighbor” to Open House. The other letter (V.7) is for the parent to give to the neighbor who doesn’t have kids at the school… who probably never thought of attending.

For those without a Handbook, here’s a copy of the letter we suggest you consider sending your parents, asking them to invite a neighbor. With a little imagination, you can play off of this one to construct a letter of invitation for your parents to hand the neighbors:

Sample Invitation to Open House

You and your friends and relatives are invited to attend our annual Open House on Thursday, April 22, from 7:00-8:30 p.m.

We are proud of the students at Kid View School and their accomplishments. Children are our nation’s most valuable resource and public education is a valuable investment in the future of our country. Public schools need the support of parents and members of our community if few are to continue to meet the formidable task of providing our children a quality education. All members of our community are stakeholders in the future of our children.

Many of your neighbors no longer have children in the schools and are often uninformed or misinformed about the wonderful things happening in our schools. We would like your neighbors to see for themselves the high quality of education students receive at Kid View, as well as the excellent samples of student work displayed that evening. The best way for our neighbors to find out how their local schools spend their tax dollars is to visit!

Therefore, the Kid View staff is asking for your cooperation in extending to your neighbors an invitation to visit our school at our Open House on April 22. We ask each Kid View family to invite at least two relatives or neighbors to join us as guests at Open House. Our efforts are especially directed to those friendly neighbors who no longer have children in school. Many people may be unable to attend, but will appreciate the thoughtfulness of just being asked.

We have attached two special letters of invitation for each family to hand to two neighbors or relatives in our community. Bringing together students, parents, and neighbors will enhance our strong sense of community here at Kid View School.

Thanks, for your support and cooperation.


For more great ideas, samples and forms, check out the Elementary Principal’s Handbook, available through shopACSA.