Editable Parent Letter – Inform Families About Your School…

About this resource

What's inside this resource

Editable Parent Letter

Inform Families About Your School Dog in a Clear & Supportive Way 🐶📄

Bringing a therapy dog into your school is an exciting step, but it’s important that parents feel informed, comfortable, and confident about how the dog will be integrated into school life.

Whether your dog is in training or already a certified school therapy dog, this editable parent letter gives you a professional yet approachable way to communicate with families. Save time with a ready-to-use structure, while still being able to personalize details to fit your specific school dog program.

This letter template helps explain the purpose, benefits, and guidelines of having a school dog while addressing common parent questions and concerns.

🐾 What Makes This Parent Letter So Helpful?

✔ Saves You Time – A clear, structured letter that you can edit to match your school and dog’s situation.
✔ Three Customizable Versions – Whether your dog is in training or fully certified, choose the letter that fits best.
✔ Reassures Parents – Provides families with transparent information about safety, learning benefits, and school policies.
✔ Professional Yet Friendly – A warm, engaging tone that helps build trust with parents.
✔ Completely Editable – Customize in PowerPoint or Keynote, or print the ready-to-use PDF version.

📌 What’s Included?

📥 Three Different Parent Letter Versions:
📝 Therapy Dog in Training – A welcoming letter introducing the school dog’s role during training.
📑 Therapy Dog in Training (Formal Version) – A more structured, professional-style letter.
📜 Certified Therapy Dog – A letter that presents the fully trained dog and highlights its impact.

🎨 Design Options:
✔ Each version comes in five colors + a black-and-white option.

📌 Formats Included:
📄 PDF – Ready to print and use as-is.
🎞 PowerPoint & Keynote – Fully editable, allowing you to personalize names, school details, and policies.

💡 How to Use This Parent Letter

📍 Step 1: Choose the version that best fits your therapy dog program.
📍 Step 2: Edit the content (if needed) to include specific school information.
📍 Step 3: Print or email the letter to parents before introducing the dog.
📍 Step 4: Use it for school board approvals or staff meetings as a formal introduction.

💡 Bonus Tip: Laminate the letter and keep a copy in your classroom or school office for reference!

🌟 Why Teachers & Therapy Dog Handlers Love This Resource

✔ “This saved me so much time! I just edited the details, and it was ready to send.”
✔ “Parents felt reassured because everything was clearly explained.”
✔ “The different versions were perfect—I could choose the one that fit our situation best.”

🐶 Make Parent Communication Easy & Stress-Free!

Having a therapy dog in school is a wonderful opportunity—but keeping parents informed is key. This editable parent letter gives you the perfect way to explain everything professionally, warmly, and clearly.

📥 Download now and confidently introduce your school dog to families! 🐾✨

📍 Best wishes,
Heike from Lernfitness

Did You Know?

I teach with a certified therapy dog, and together we create a positive and inspiring learning environment. 🐶✨

What's included

A letter headed "School Dog in Your Child's Class - Our Dog Joe in Training", written in a warm first-person voice and closing with an offer of a personal conversation
A formal version opening "Subject: Therapy Dog in Your Child's Class - Our Dog Joe in Training", citing school administration and school board approval and signed off "Sincerely"
A third letter opening "Subject: Certified Therapy Dog in Your Child's Class", announcing completed certification and regular classroom presence
Six repeats of the same three letters across the presentation file (slides 4 through 21), one trio per design variant
A separate PDF of the same parent-information material, supplied alongside the editable presentation

Resource types: Classroom Decor, Bulletin Boards, Projects, Activities, Door Decor, Presentations, Teacher Tools, Templates, Worksheets, Worksheets & Printables

In the classroom

Teaching tips & learning objectives

Teaching tips

Pick the version that matches where the dog actually is: the first two address a dog still in training, while the third states that certification is complete and the dog is now an official part of the school community
Every letter arrives pre-filled with a specific dog, breed and handler name, so replace those and the approval wording with your own school's details before it goes out
The formal "Subject:" versions read as standing documents rather than notes home, which suits circulating the same information to an administration or school board alongside the parent mailing
Send the letter before the dog's first classroom day: each version leans on the promise that no child is required to interact, which parents need in hand ahead of time rather than afterwards
The allergy sentence names a non-shedding breed; if your dog sheds, rewrite that line rather than deleting it, since it is the paragraph parents with allergic children look for

Skills covered

Parent communication drafting - teachers adapt a complete letter that names the dog, its breed and its handler, states that board approval is in place, and closes with an invitation to discuss concerns.
Matching register to audience - the same announcement is supplied as a warm first-person note and as a formal "Subject:"-headed letter, one pitched at a class mailing list and one at an administration.
Anticipating family concerns - each version raises voluntary participation and allergy-friendly shedding before a parent has to ask, which is the pattern a teacher reuses when writing about any classroom animal.
Staging a programme announcement - the wording changes according to whether the dog is in training or fully certified, giving the teacher a matched letter for each phase of setting up a school dog.

Good to know

Questions teachers ask about this resource

How do the three letters differ from one another?

By the dog's stage and the tone. One introduces a dog in training as part of a "school dog-teacher team", one restates that news as a formal letter opening with a "Subject:" line and citing school administration approval, and the third announces a dog that has "successfully completed his certification as a therapy dog".

What details come already written into the letters?

Each version names the dog Joe, identifies the breed as a Lagotto Romagnolo, names the handler, and states that the school board has already approved classroom visits - the details a teacher swaps for their own before sending.

Which parent concerns do the letters already address?

Two of the most common. Every version states that participation is voluntary - "no child will be forced to interact with Joe" - and every version tells families the breed does not shed hair, making it suitable for children with allergies.