Principal Newsletter: Nine-Week Update at the End of the First Quarter
The nine-week newsletter marks the end of the first quarter and carries a different weight than the six-week check-in. Report cards are landing at home. Families have data. Your newsletter should contextualize that data and tell them what the school is doing about what the first nine weeks revealed.
Acknowledge That Families Have the Report Cards
Do not repeat what is already in the report card. Families have those grades. What they do not have is the school's interpretation of what the grades show at a school-wide level, what you are doing in response to the patterns you saw, and what the expectations are for the second quarter. Use the newsletter to add that context rather than summarize information families already received.
Share the School-Wide Academic Picture
Give families an honest picture of how the school performed in the first quarter. What percentage of students are on track for grade-level expectations? Where are you seeing the strongest performance? Where are you seeing the most need? Aggregate data lets families understand whether their child's experience is typical or whether they are facing a challenge the school is actively addressing.
Report on Attendance Trends
Chronic absenteeism often becomes visible by the end of the first quarter. Share what you are seeing. How does attendance compare to the prior year at this point? Which grade levels are showing the strongest patterns? What is the threshold that triggers the school's outreach process? Families who understand the stakes around attendance and know the school is watching are more responsive when their own student starts accumulating absences.
Describe Supports Launching in the Second Quarter
Name the interventions you are adding or adjusting based on first-quarter data. New academic support groups. Attendance recovery plans. Counselor-led check-ins for students who had a difficult first quarter. Families who see that the school uses first-quarter data to change something rather than just report it trust the system.
Name What Is Working
The nine-week newsletter should not be all problems. If a specific program launched well, if a grade level exceeded attendance goals, if a new instructional practice produced early evidence of impact, name it. Specific wins give context to the challenges and describe what the school is doing right.
Tell Families What the Second Quarter Looks Like
Preview what is coming. Major assessments. Events that require preparation. Deadlines families need to track. What the instructional focus shifts to after the foundation-setting of the first quarter. Families who can see ahead plan their involvement more effectively. Daystage makes it simple to build these recurring quarter-end newsletters from a consistent structure.
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Frequently asked questions
What is the most important information to include in a nine-week newsletter?
First quarter academic data and what it tells you, attendance trends and how they compare to prior years, any patterns you observed in the first quarter that you are addressing in the second, and what families should be doing or watching for in the weeks ahead. Connect the first quarter to what comes next so the newsletter is forward-looking, not just retrospective.
How do I talk about report cards in the nine-week newsletter?
Reference them without repeating their content. Families have the report card. The newsletter should add context that the report card cannot: what the school observed about the year so far, what the grade distribution across the school looked like, and what support options are available for students who struggled in the first quarter.
Should I address the fall-off in engagement that many schools see after six weeks?
Yes. Many schools observe a dip in homework completion, attendance, and academic effort between weeks six and ten. If your school is experiencing that, acknowledging it and describing your response builds trust with families who are watching the same thing at home.
How do I talk about students who failed the first quarter without stigmatizing them?
Use aggregate data rather than individual references. 'Fourteen percent of students in grades 6-8 received a failing grade in at least one subject' is factual and prompts a systemic response. Name the intervention or support process those students will enter in the second quarter.
What tool helps principals send newsletters efficiently?
Daystage is built for school newsletters. A nine-week update with data sections, intervention descriptions, and second-quarter previews can be formatted and sent in one step.
Adi Ackerman
Author
Adi Ackerman is a former classroom teacher and curriculum writer with 8 years in K-8 schools. She writes about school communication, parent engagement, and what actually works in real classrooms.
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