FAQ Friday: How to get a meeting with a school

How do I get started?

We’re continuing this series on how to start helping a school. 

Last week we discussed 3 ways to pick a school.  Two weeks ago we talked about needing a reason to start helping a school. 

Once you pick a school, you’re ready to contact the school.

12 years ago I sent an email (similar to the guide below) to the principal of the school we picked.  I followed this guide and it got me a meeting with the principal.  Two months after the meeting, I discovered the principal was reassigned to a different school! So, I sent a second, similar email to a different principal and got a meeting with her that would lead to a great partnership.

You can certainly contact the school on your own.  You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to email a school. And plenty of my emails are ignored all of the time! 

​But you may find it helpful to have a guide:

• You may not be sure how to do this
• You may be unsure what to say. 
• You may want tips on how this can go better for you
• You may want to increase the chances your email is opened and read

So I developed this quick guide to help.  It contains:

• A sample email you can customize to send out
• Subject lines to increase the chance your email gets opened and read
• A checklist for what to do if your email isn’t answered right away and other tips

And after you send the email and the principal replies and wants to meet, then what?  We’ll save that for next Friday!