• Video
  • Shop
  • Culture
  • Family
  • Wellness
  • Food
  • Living
  • Style
  • Travel
  • News
  • Book Club
  • GMA3: WYNTK
  • Newsletter
  • Privacy Policy
  • Your US State Privacy Rights
  • Children's Online Privacy Policy
  • Interest-Based Ads
  • Terms of Use
  • Do Not Sell My Info
  • Contact Us
  • © 2025 ABC News
  • Living

Teachers' 'Handle With Care' note is what we all need right now

1:18
WABC
National headlines from ABC News
Kristen Driemeier
Shannon McLellan
ByShannon McLellan
August 24, 2021, 9:50 PM

Two Missouri teachers are going viral for a sweet note they sent home to parents of students in their class.

Kristen Driemeier, 37, and Heather Steighorst, 34, have been fourth-grade co-teachers for eight years together at Festus Intermediate in Festus, Missouri.

This year, before the first day of school, the two teachers sent a note to parents titled “Handle with Care.”

The note reads: “If your family is experiencing difficulties at home, I would like to provide additional support at school…If your child is coming to school after a difficult night, morning or weekend please text me ‘Handle with Care.’ Nothing else will be said or asked. This will let me know that your child may need extra time, patience or help during the day.”

The teachers said they found the idea for the note on the popular teaching website, Teachers Pay Teachers, where teachers share resources and lesson plans, but do not know the original creator of the note.

One of their student’s parents shared the note on Facebook with praise for the thought behind the "Handle With Care" note. Her post has since gotten over 200,000 shares and thousands of more comments.

Editor’s Picks

Teacher's 'summer packet' is all things kids can't learn on a worksheet

  • May 30, 2018

Preschool teacher holds lessons in renovated '70s style bus

  • Aug 04, 2021

Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt surprise custodian who became a teacher in his 40s

  • Jul 12, 2021

“We’ve had so many positive text messages and e-mails,” Driemeier said. “We feel like we’re getting Punk’d.”

Kristen Driemeier, 37, and Heather Steighorst, 34, have been 4th grade co-teachers together for 8 years.
Kristen Driemeier

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, experts say a focus on mental health is essential for students returning to school.

"We don't know the level of trauma that individual students have had. We don't know their family situation, if they lost somebody, if parents have lost jobs," Kelly Vaillancourt Strobach, director of policy and advocacy for the National Association of School Psychologists, said. "So what we are encouraging schools to do is really in those first couple of weeks, just infuse a lot of social-emotional learning, give kids the opportunity to talk about what's happened over the last year."

Related Articles

MORE: National Teacher of the Year shares 6 tips to help parents empower their child in the classroom

Driemeier and Steighorst said the note allows them to acknowledge when a child might need extra support or patience, especially while transitioning back to school in this unprecedented time.

“It is important to remember these kids are dealing with all the normal kid troubles plus the unknown, fear and politically-charged time caused by the pandemic,” Driemeier said. “I feel like if I know about their day or their weekend or their morning we can talk about it….instead of keeping it all bottled up inside.”

The co-teachers hope that their note will make school a safe place for their students to learn and grow.

“When our students are with us, we love them like they’re our own,” Steighorst said.

Editor’s Picks

Teacher's 'summer packet' is all things kids can't learn on a worksheet

  • May 30, 2018

Preschool teacher holds lessons in renovated '70s style bus

  • Aug 04, 2021

Dwayne Johnson, Emily Blunt surprise custodian who became a teacher in his 40s

  • Jul 12, 2021

Up Next in Living—

Summer solstice 2025: What to know as 1st day of summer arrives

June 20, 2025

High school graduate paints portraits of classmates as graduation gift

June 17, 2025

June's full strawberry moon: See photos and what it means for your zodiac

June 11, 2025

High school athlete somersaults to track and field championship win

June 10, 2025

Shop GMA Favorites

ABC will receive a commission for purchases made through these links.

Sponsored Content by Taboola

The latest lifestyle and entertainment news and inspiration for how to live your best life - all from Good Morning America.
  • Contests
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Do Not Sell My Info
  • Children’s Online Privacy Policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Your US State Privacy Rights
  • Interest-Based Ads
  • About Nielsen Measurement
  • Press
  • Feedback
  • Shop FAQs
  • ABC News
  • ABC
  • All Videos
  • All Topics
  • Sitemap

© 2025 ABC News
  • Privacy Policy— 
  • Your US State Privacy Rights— 
  • Children's Online Privacy Policy— 
  • Interest-Based Ads— 
  • Terms of Use— 
  • Do Not Sell My Info— 
  • Contact Us— 

© 2025 ABC News