Printable · for parents & PTOs
Letter to the principal
Principals respond to specific, respectful, evidence-backed asks — not petitions of vibes. Fill in the blanks, delete what doesn't apply, print, sign.
Date:
Dear ,
I'm the parent of in grade , writing to ask the school to consider two evidence-backed changes that cost little and help every student.
1. Protect outdoor time during the school day
Nearsightedness in children is rising worldwide, and the one prevention supported by randomized school trials is more time outdoors in daylight. In a JAMA trial in Guangzhou, one added 40-minute outdoor period per day cut new myopia cases by about a quarter over three years; Taiwanese schools that moved recess outdoors roughly halved new cases in one year. I ask that our school:
- Keep recess outdoors whenever weather reasonably allows.
- Not withhold recess as a routine punishment.
- Consider moving one class period outside where the subject allows.
2. Set a clear, consistent phone policy
Whatever policy the school chooses, children do best when it is consistent and enforced kindly. I ask that the school publish its phone rules in one place, apply them evenly, and consider phone-free instruction time as a baseline.
I'd be glad to help — gathering parent input, printing materials, or joining a working group. Thank you for the work you do for our children.
Sources: He et al., JAMA 2015 (doi:10.1001/jama.2015.10803); Wu et al., Ophthalmology 2013 (doi:10.1016/j.ophtha.2012.11.009). Plain-language summary: lesspix.com/science/outdoor-2-hours/
How to use it well
- One page, one meeting. Hand it in person or attach it to a short email asking for ten minutes.
- Bring one other family. Two signatures reads as the start of something; ten can come later.
- Offer hands, not homework. The offer to help is what separates this from a complaint.
Pair with the PTO handout for the meeting itself, and the classroom tracker as the concrete first step a teacher can say yes to.