Advisory Notice

AN UPPER NEW ENGLAND SCHOOL-TO-SCHOOL SUPPORT PROJECT

September 8, 2005

Note: I have a bi-monthly newsletter from my website, New Hampshire Center from School Reform. My next newsletter will have other ideas for supporting children and families who survived Hurricane Katrina. If you have the desire to do something that makes a difference and you haven't yet found the project that fits your time and budget, this idea could reach the children that need support next week. A New England School-to-School, student-to-student support network.

TO: Any school, teacher, principal, parent group, other group, interested in providing support to children in Houston Public Schools.

In speaking directly to Jennifer Yould in the Houston Schools’ Office of Strategic Partnerships, she said friendly letters of support that reached the homeless children relocated to Texas would be welcomed. She thinks friendly letters for the children and happy pictures would be wonderful…and if we send them, she’ll see they reach the children when they go in to school next week. A participating school could likely accomplish this in less than an hour and for less than $25.00 in mailing costs.

If you would like to provide direct support for these children and could spare a few minutes, here are the suggested guidelines:

1. Allow school students to write a friendly letter to another student. They could draw a cheerful picture. Say hello. Don’t dwell or mention sad things…just write cheerful, friendship letters.

2. Bundle these letters and pictures class by class in envelopes, so they might be given out to a whole class of students in Texas. So one envelope might hold 25 letters to students of a certain age, pictures, and whatever else fits in the envelope you'd like to send.

Label the envelopes like this:
For 2nd Grade students: Letters & Pictures from Mrs. Jenning"s Class
ABC Elementary School
Hope, Maine

or

For A Class of High School Students: From Students at Grantham High School
101 Front Street
Grantham, New Hampshire

or

For Teachers at an Emergency Start School: From Teachers at ...

You could include a book the teacher and children could read.
You could include a stamped envelope for receiving letters in return.
You could include anything you are willing to mail that isn't too difficult to carry.

3. The class bundles in envelopes can be mailed from your school directly to:

Jennifer Yould
Office of Strategic Partnerships
Houston Independent School District
3830 Richmond Avenue
Houston, Texas 77027

4. Jennifer says if these come to her in class packs (no individual letters…it will drown postal workers) she will personally see these are delivered to hurricane victim children in their assigned school classrooms and teachers on Monday, Tuesday, or as they arrive.

5. She asks that letters to children try to stay away from sad topics and create just nice cheerful letters and pictures. It will be a children-to-children support network.

6. Should our New England children want pen pals who write back, a pack of stamps or a few self-stamped addressed envelopes would be needed.

7. Jennifer reminds us "don’t forget a note for the teacher." These teachers are working under the most difficult conditions. It will take weeks for the teachers there to have materials they need to teach and good information about students in their classes. The task is daunting.

Thanks for considering this idea and passing it along to your principals and teachers. If you’d like more information, please feel free to contact me:

Susan Hollins, Ph.D.
susan@nhschoolreform.org
www.nhschoolreform.org
Please feel free to call.
603-224-0366

Copyright © 2005 New Hampshire Center for School Reform