AI-Assisted Weekly School Newsletter

1. Before you can write a great newsletter, you need the content. The week before implementing this system, send teachers and staff a simple request:

"Please send me by Thursday noon for the newsletter:

• Any upcoming events, dates, or reminders
• One classroom highlight or student achievement (no student names — just grade/class level)
• Any supply or volunteer needs"

This gives you the raw material Claude will work with.

1. Go to {{tool:Claude.url}} and start a new chat
2. Paste this setup:

I'm the office manager at [School Name], a [grade level] school with [approximate enrollment] students. Each week I produce a parent newsletter. Our newsletter tone is: [warm and community-focused / professional / friendly and informal]. Newsletter is distributed via [ParentSquare / email / school website]. Target length: about 400 words. Our school year began in [month] and we're currently in [month].

1. Paste your collected updates from teachers and staff:

Here are this week's updates from teachers and staff. Please draft our weekly newsletter from these notes:

PRINCIPAL MESSAGE THEME: [key message — e.g., "reminder about upcoming state testing, encourage rest and a good breakfast"]

UPCOMING DATES:
- [date]: [event]
- [date]: [event]
- [date]: [event]

CLASSROOM HIGHLIGHTS:
- [Grade]: [achievement or project highlight, no student names]
- [Grade]: [highlight]

REMINDERS:
- [reminder 1]
- [reminder 2]

SPECIAL NOTES:
- [anything else — school closure, policy reminder, volunteer opportunity]

Please draft as a parent newsletter with warm, community-focused language. Include a brief principal's note. About 400 words. Use clear headers for each section.

1. Read the generated newsletter carefully. Check:

   • All dates are correctly included
   • No student names appear (FERPA)
   • Tone matches your school's voice
   • The principal's message captures the right theme
   • All sections are present

1. If anything needs adjusting: "The classroom highlights section sounds too generic — make it more specific to what elementary students are actually doing" or "The principal's message is too long — shorten to 3 sentences."

1. Copy the text into your newsletter platform (ParentSquare, email, Google Docs). Add any photos from the week using your normal workflow. Apply your school's standard header and footer.

1. Proofread one final time for:

   • Accurate dates and times
   • Correct event names
   • No accidental student names
   • Your principal has approved (if required)