• Newsletters: these could include countdowns to program start date, reminders, event calendar, and answers to frequently asked questions Check out a template here for newsletters.
• Flyers: send home full color flyers with pictures of last summer’s program, student quotes, contact information, and the program start date.
• Personal letters/notes: handwritten letters may be a good way of connecting with hard-to-reach parents.
• Birthday and/or Holiday Cards: Cards should be personalized, and handed to students, placed in their backpack, or mailed to students’ homes. Possible holidays to consider: Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, April Fools Day, Memorial Day. Need a birthday card template to help a student celebrate their special day, while reminding them about summer? Check out our birthday card template here.
• Emails: duplicate any flyers or notes sent home via email; email can also be a tool for answering parent questions and sending event invitations.
• Direct postal mailings: important programmatic materials can be sent via mail.

Personal face-to-face or phone call conversations are important to keeping students and families engaged, after they‘ve registered.

• Informal check-ins: program staff can use pick-up and drop-off times at school (or afterschool program) to check-in with students and parents.
• Parent-teacher conferences can be utilized to remind parents about the summer program.
• Check-in phone calls: these can come from administrative or program staff and should remind parents of the summer program and answer any questions.
• Text messages: send brief reminders to parents through text, such as program start day and what to bring for Day 1 of programming.

Incentives can be a fun way to connect with a student, and to simultaneously reinforce their commitment to your summer program. Check out a sample logo here of a local summer program. This logo was placed on T-shirts provided to students and also placed on sunglasses provided to students in spring (before Day 1 of summer programming). Both the shirt and sunglasses were distributed through each child’s school in the spring, but could have just as easily been distributed at a central event to remind them about Day 1 and build excitement.