Helping parents understand how communication, relationships, and decision-making shape a child’s educational experience and how to advocate with clarity instead of fear or frustration.
What if school systems
felt less confusing
and more navigable?
Available | Fall 2026
Free Guide
The Parent Circle
Written by Angelica Allen-McMillan, Ed.D., whose career has spanned nearly every level of New Jersey's public education system—from classroom teacher to Acting Commissioner of Education—this book brings parents an unusually broad view of how schools work from the inside.
WHO IS THIS BOOK FOR?
Parents, guardians, and caregivers navigating PK–12 school systems
who want to better understand how schools function, communicate with greater clarity, and advocate thoughtfully for their child.
Praise
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“This book offers a roadmap for parents to become confident advocates in a system that can feel intimidating.”
— Johnny Key, Former Arkansas Secretary of Education
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“This book offers parents a clear and respectful way to engage with schools without overstepping the professional environment.”
— Mike LaSusa, Superintendent of Schools
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“Parent advocacy is not a straight line…this book helps you move forward with clarity and confidence.”
— Nana Tchabo, M.D., Parent
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"A thoughtful and highly practical guide for families navigating the school system."
— Dr. Clarence C. Hoover III, Retired Superintendent of Schools
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"This book reminded me that I don't have to navigate my child's school experience alone."
— Tashana Taylor, Parent
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"Equips parents to move forward with clarity and confidence."
— Nichelle Gordon-Scott, Ph.D., Educator
INSIDE THE BOOK
Supporting your child begins with seeing their school experience more clearly.
Dear Teacher, Meet My Child helps parents understand the people, relationships, and systems surrounding their child at school. Through the Sphere of Care™, practical guidance, and real-world examples, parents learn to notice what matters, understand different perspectives, and decide how to participate with greater clarity, confidence, and care.
What You'll Learn
The book moves through three stages of your child's school journey. Each section builds on the one before it—helping you understand the system, notice what your child's experience may be revealing, and respond thoughtfully as circumstances change.
SECTION I — Entering the Sphere of Care™
Understand the system and build the relationships. Learn how the Circles of Care surrounding your child function, how schools work, and how clear communication can begin strengthening relationships before concerns arise.
SECTION II — Strengthening the Sphere of Care™
Notice what your child's experience is revealing. Learn to recognize changes and patterns, understand different kinds of school support, and look more closely at homework, belonging, and experiences beyond the classroom.
SECTION III — Sustaining the Sphere of Care™
Discern what comes next. Learn to distinguish an isolated concern from a developing pattern, look beyond labels, decide when a response may be needed, navigate differing perspectives, and recalibrate your involvement while remaining connected to your child.
You’ll Walk Away With
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Clarity
Understand how schools function and the relationships surrounding your child. -
Discernment
Recognize patterns, consider different perspectives, and decide what deserves your attention. -
Practical Tools
Tools to advocate for your child without losing trust or yourself.
A Lifetime of Seeing the Whole System
Over more than twenty-five years, Angelica Allen-McMillan served at nearly every level of New Jersey's public education system—from classroom teacher and assistant principal to founding principal and chief school administrator, assistant superintendent, superintendent, county superintendent, and acting commissioner of education.
Each role provided a different perspective on how schools function and how the experiences of children, parents, educators, and leaders are shaped by the conditions surrounding them. That breadth of experience gives her a rare ability to explain the educational system with both professional insight and deep understanding of the human experiences within it.
Dear Teacher, Meet My Child grew from those experiences. It is the book she wishes every parent had before questions became concerns, concerns became conflict, and opportunities for partnership were lost.
Passage from the book
“Children rarely experience schools through policies alone. They experience them through relationships, communication, consistency, and the emotional environments created by the adults surrounding them. The Sphere of Care™ is shaped every day through the interactions, responses, and decisions that children quietly absorb long before anyone realizes how deeply those experiences matter.”
For readers of
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The Anxious Generation
Comparable because: systems-level conversation about children, broad parent audience, culturally relevant, educational implications
Shared DNA:
Helping adults interpret environments affecting children -
Permission to Feel
by Marc Brackett.Comparable because: emotional intelligencel educational environments, human-centered systems, emotionally regulated communication
Shared DNA:
Clarity + emotional steadiness -
Dare to Lead
by Brené BrownComparable because: courageous communication, leadership under pressure, vulnerability + clarity, trust-building
Shared DNA:
Human-centered leadership inside complex systems -
How to Talk So Kids Will Listen & Listen So Kids Will Talk
by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish.Comparable because: communication-centered, practical, emotionally grounded, relational over reactive
Shared DNA:
Language matters deeply
This book is for you if you want to:
• understand how schools work and where you fit
• notice what your child's experience may be revealing
• consider different perspectives without losing sight of your child
• know when to step in, when to step back, and what to do next
• build relationships that support your child over time
✺ Questions Parents Often Ask ✺
What is Dear Teacher, Meet My Child about?
Dear Teacher, Meet My Child helps parents, guardians, and caregivers understand the relationships and systems shaping their child's school experience. Through practical guidance and the Sphere of Care™, parents learn to communicate thoughtfully, make informed decisions, and advocate with greater clarity and confidence.
How will this book help me?
The book helps you understand how schools work, recognize what deserves your attention, notice patterns, and decide what to do next. You'll gain practical ways to communicate with educators and support your child without feeling that you have to navigate school alone.
Is this book only for parents whose children are struggling at school?
No. This book is for parents, guardians, and caregivers throughout the PK–12 journey—when things are going well, when questions arise, and when challenges emerge. Building strong relationships and understanding how schools work matter long before there is a problem.
Who is Dear Teacher, Meet My Child written for?
It is written primarily for parents, guardians, and caregivers of children from pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade who want to understand their child's school experience, build productive relationships with educators, and respond thoughtfully when questions or concerns arise.
What makes Dear Teacher, Meet My Child different?
At its center is the Sphere of Care™, my framework for understanding the relationships surrounding a child and the different knowledge each relationship holds. Stories, practical tools, sample language, and reflection help parents turn that understanding into thoughtful action.
What is the Sphere of Care™?
Every child is surrounded by people who know them in different ways. The Sphere of Care™ helps parents understand those relationships and recognize that parents, educators, peers, and others may each hold a different—and valuable—perspective on the child's experience.
Why did you write this book?
I spent decades watching parents and educators work toward the same goal while sometimes struggling to understand one another. I wrote this book to make the school system less mysterious and help parents navigate it with greater clarity, confidence, and care.
Families are navigating school systems during a time of increasing complexity, emotional fatigue, communication strain, and uncertainty.
Parents are seeking clearer guidance, stronger partnership, and practical ways to support children without escalating conflict or losing trust in the process.
At the same time, schools and communities continue searching for healthier ways to strengthen communication, relationships, and shared responsibility around children.
This book arrives at a moment when clarity, steadiness, and thoughtful advocacy are needed more than ever.
WHY NOW?
Free Guide