Many moments produce joyous memories and potential memorabilia throughout your children’s education. Whether it’s your child’s first A, a short story from English class, or a special award, the memories can add up. Combine these keepsakes with essential paperwork from the school or teachers, and you can find yourself with overflowing boxes of paper.
Deciding what school papers to keep and what to dispose of can be challenging. But with a shredding expert like Shred Nations, you can figure it out with ease.
How to Decide What School Papers to Keep
When clearing out your children’s keepsakes, the first challenge is how to decide what school papers to keep. The items your child’s created throughout their education is an important part of growing up – they can have deep sentimental value. Other documents serve as a record of this important part of their lives.
However, in addition to taking up significant amounts of space, documents and keepsakes can contain sensitive information. The question remains – how do you know what to keep and what to destroy? Let’s take a closer look at some specific items to better answer that question.
Report Cards & Progress Reports
Academic records like report cards and progress reports are important records of your child’s performance throughout their academic journey. They can be important reference points when they apply for scholarships or if they need to transfer schools. You should keep these documents in a secure place – a safe deposit box can be a good option.
Standardized Test Results
Standardized tests like the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) or the American College Testing (ACT) are essential to provide your child with choices for their future. Whether they’re preparing for college or trying to take advanced placement courses, these test results are necessary. They should be kept in a safe and secure place.
IEP & 504 Plans
Children who require special education accommodations will receive documents outlining a 504 Plan or Individualized Education Program (IEP). These plans record the services provided to accommodate your child’s needs and can smooth the transition to a new school. Both of these documents can be important when your child begins college, and 504 Plans can be a valuable reference in many situations, including employment.
Awards & Certificates
Any awards or certificates that your child has received represent important milestones in their life. They often hold sentimental value, but they can also be important parts of your child’s portfolio beyond high school. Keep the awards or certificates representing skills or significant achievements. Those representing less important milestones (think participation trophies) are probably fine to be disposed of.
Art Projects & Creative Work
Your child can accumulate many creative projects and works of art in school. While they may hold some sentimental value, keeping every piece can verge on impractical. Start by disposing of simple coloring projects, or those that contain glitter, or macaroni. Consider keeping the items representing your child’s personality, including original art pieces, stories, and poetry.
Major Projects & Essays
If there’s one thing your child will surely accumulate from school, it’s a stack of papers. Homework, essays, and other paper projects all count. You can thin out these stacks of schoolwork by disposing of weekly projects and quizzes. Try keeping major projects that showcase your child’s skills and creativity. These will be an important part of their portfolio.
Permission Slips & Notices
When it comes to permission slips and similar notices, they can be disposed of. It can be tempting to keep them, but they serve little purpose and are generally just clutter. They should find their way to the shredder during your clean-up.
Graded Assignments
No matter how good of a student your child is, there’s no reason to keep every graded assignment they bring home. The major projects and essays mentioned above will be enough to show their progress. Items kept from this category should be exceptions to the shredding rule – the best of the best.
Health Forms & Medical Records
Throughout your child’s academic years, they’ll likely undergo various health check-ups. From physicals for sports activities and immunizations to screenings for conditions like scoliosis, these represent important health forms and medical records. These documents should be kept and stored securely.
Financial Documents
Financial documents usually require extra care, given the sensitive information they can contain. If your child participates in school activities that involve handling money, any financial records should be kept. They represent a developing skillset, responsibility, and aptitude for financial situations and, as a result, they serve as part of their portfolio.
How Residential Shredding Services Protect Your Child’s Future
Residential shredding services can support your efforts to protect your child’s future. These services help ensure that your documents are disposed of safely and effectively. Simply disposing of documents in the trash can make your child’s sensitive information vulnerable. You’ll know their information is safe when you take advantage of professional residential shredding services. Shred Nations offers a variety of services that you can take advantage of when cleaning out old documents:
- On-site Shredding: If you’re doing an extensive clean-up project for your home, you can request a shredding truck come directly to you. This is a great choice when preparing for a move or clearing out decades of accumulated documents.
- Mail-in Shredding: Shred Nations provides mail-in services through our licensed contractors. You use standard-sized boxes at per-box rates, which makes it easy to determine your costs upfront. These boxes are sent to a Shred Nations affiliate location and safely destroyed.
- Drop-off Services: Our partners provide drop-off points at an extensive network of convenient locations. After you drop off your documents, they’ll ensure your documents are kept secure until they’re shredded.
Secure Your Child’s Privacy with Professional Shredding
Learning how to decide what school papers to keep can be challenging. Ensuring your child’s privacy is protected doesn’t have to be. Whether you’re planning a big sorting project or you’re ready to dispose of what remains, Shred Nations is here to help. Our network of residential shredding professionals provide peace of mind by disposing of your documents properly. Call us today at (866) 385-3706 for help securing your family’s privacy when disposing of school documents and more.
