Family & School
Time Capsule Project

This is an open-source, volunteer-driven, free-to-use, pre-K through 12th grade student motivation project. It uses methods as old as our human race: roots & goals!

Family & School Time Capsule Project Services

Using annual family letters over 14 years to constantly refocus on family roots, family history, and student goals.

Letters to Student

Each of the 14 annual letters each parent and grandparent writes to their child over 14 years, from Pre-K through 12th grade, have the same two components separated by a year: parental dreams for their child, and a story from that parent's life they want their student to know. Imagine the power of 14 such letters, read twice the years they are written, 11 months apart, over 14 years! Imagine how student self-confidence and self-image change! Such intimate time, twice a year with each parent reading their priceless letter to this child, will become priceless in family history!

Pre-K to 2nd grade Letters

Each parent & grandparent writes and reads their letter to their student, offering to answer any questions. A parent prepares a self-addressed envelope to hold copies of all letters their student receives that year. The originals are kept at home as vaulable family records. The grade's School Time Capsule Postmaster Volunteer collects these envelopes and places them into the 700-pound School Time Capsule Vault, usually in the school lobby. The next year they return the envelopes to the students just before the annual letter writing so the 11 month old letters can be read again by each authors to the child.

3rd to 11th grade Letters

In 3rd grade, growing literacy allows 3 changes: 1) Students themselves begin writing to each parent, grandparent, or other close relative, asking for a letter back about their new dreams for them and with another family history story. 2) Students also prepare their own self-addressed envelope in a class period dedicated to the Time Capsule Project. The envelope, with the current date on the envelope, holds all letters received that year. 3) Students then write a letter to themselves with their own thoughts about each letter they received, and their own dreams for their own future. This letter also goes into the self-addressed envelope which is sealed and stored in the school's Time Capsule Vault by the Postmaster Volunteer.

12th grade Letters

This annual cycle is repeated until the 12th grade. Almost year-old envelopes are always returned to students by the grade’s Postmaster Volunteer before the next years letter writing. They are re-read and taken home just before the letter writing process starts. In the 12th grade all dreams written about change to be 10-years into the future. These 12th grade envelopes remain in the school's Time Capsule Vault until the 10-year high school class reunion. Imagine how the turnout for the 10-year high school reunion will grow!
(Middle schools can also have all 8th grade letters be about dreams 10-years into the future. This would establish a 10-year middle school 8th grade reunion tradition. It provides middle schools with a powerful resource in former students returning who can speak about life and recommendations after 8th grade.)

Results & 10-year Reunions

With roots and goals constantly being explored every year in such letter writing, students become more focused and motivated, more bonded with parents, grandparents, and involved relatives, and more self-confident, more well behaved. School achievement increases as students focus more actively on their own life goals. Unplanned pregnancies, fighting, and the attraction of gangs, all decrease! Teachers enjoy teaching again! Imagine the turnout for 10-year reunions as students return to pick up their 10-year old letters! Imagine how school support, as well as involvement as citizens, will grow!

How Voluntering as School Time Capsule Postmaster Changes Life

Volunteers see the change!

Postmasters work less than 24 hours over the entire school year for the grade they are Postmaster for. They can volunteer to be Postmaster for more than one grade. They help these priceless letters follow the students and return home.

Project is very low cost!

It is strongly recommended that a parent fund-raising campaign be done for the 700 pound vault needed to function as the school Time Capsule holding the letters. This is the perfect time to use for educating families about the Project. The vault must be located in the highest visibility location possible so as many students as possible see it daily, usually in the school lobby.

Obvious Growth in student academics

Schools will experience a lowering of dropout rates with rising grades and achievement. Fewer behavioral issues will be hindering such progress!

correlation between letter writing & progress is clear

See the report covering the School Effectiveness Indices (SEI) scores from 2006 through 2023 in 32 non-magnet DISD middle schools. The writing of letters for the School Time Capsule Project is highly correlated with higher SEI scores!

Student, parent, & Educator Testimonials

While hundreds have valued this project since 2005, the online collection of statements is just starting.
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“A testimonial from a client who benefited from your product or service. Testimonials can be a highly effective way of establishing credibility and increasing your company's reputation.”
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“A testimonial from a client who benefited from your product or service. Testimonials can be a highly effective way of establishing credibility and increasing your company's reputation.”
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Improve schools you love anywhere

This simple project focused on family roots and student goals can dramatically improve any school in the World with the work of volunteers supported by educators. As an open-source project it is free to use. We only ask that improvements discovered be shared with our online community.

Family & School Time Capsule Project

School Time Capsule Vault
South Oak Cliff, in 2024, was the first DISD high school to have all students in all grades write letters to each parent asking for a letter back about their dreams for the student, and with a story from the family history.