Hi, I'm new at this but I had to tell you this story.
I'm a father of a third grader and I work very long hours, but I find the time to volunteer and participate in my child's school functions as much as I can. For a few weeks I noticed my child struggling with his reading while at home and when he's doing homework. l called the school and made a few visits to speak with his teacher about his performance. We tried a number of things to help him but my child was still having trouble grasping the work in school. As an attempt to help my child, I took it upon myself to enroll him in Huntington Learning Center in Apollo Beach Fl for their 12 week program called Fast Track to Success. After a few weeks, I noticed a significant improvement in my child's reading skills and study habits. It's as if he feels more confident in himself and motivated to do his homework and show me he can do it. His mother tells me that the school has called her and was shocked by his change in attitude. I'm happy, his mom is happy and things are better for us. So as a solution to your child's performance problems, I highly recommend Huntington in Apollo Beach Fl.

Aj

I volunteer in the classroom as much as possible. I go on field trips. Most importantly I email the teacher if I have any questions or concerns. That is the easiest way for a teacher to get back to me and the quickest.

yes. I have been on top of my six grader he been slacking with poor grades and my first grader he is very active but not understanding well.

I am there practically everyday as a pta president, so I tend to ask the teachers directly about ongoing projects. I also have taken it upon myself to research just how to interpret the test scores, etc for the school. We receive official progress reports every six weeks and then report cards. I just make it known that I am an educated person and won't take rehearsed answers to my questions.

I find it very important to have a tutor, with my students once in awhile, to be sure that they are doing all of their work and arrange for a conference with the teachers often to be certain that all assignments are met. If I have trouble I find out about No Child Left Behind for assistance.

Only way I could ever get a true gage on my stepdaughters' "performance" in school was from a school adminstrator who was under oath who could not even identify my husband as the child's father, even though he was the primary care-giver, was there after-school, "engaged" into his daughters lives-meals, bedtime routines, clubs, sports, library visits and field trips to museums, zoos,cities, concert halls, and church activities. We had samples of the girls work, their permanment records, and test results which all showed that they were thriving in spite of their bio-logical mothers attempts to sqash any academic achievement success higher than her own. Anyway, the administrators testimony of their "performance" was the exact opposite of our "self produced " evidence. Regardless of what teachers say to your face, they will only speak what they "believe" under threat of perjury in front of a judge. You have to be in the know of what is acceptable progress and you have to be engaged with your child life. THIs is the website to aid you in what you should expect your child to be covering in his/her grade level. The state won't say they are at fault on poor academic progress.

My daughter brings home a BEE book everyday. It is a large binder with inserts. There is a section for stay home papers, communication, books read etc. I communication with her teacher via internet or in the binder. Every month her teacher sends home a sheet explaining all they will cover for that month. Through out the month she also sends home list s of words/numbers my child knows or can read. The teacher sends home work every Tuesday and it is optional but we do it anyways. My daughter also has a color coded behavior chart sent home daily. She gets rewarded & receives a toy from the treasure chest at the end of the month. The school also has Cardinal points that are handed to students when they have been helpful during school or very good in class. She gets to buy things with the paper money at the end of the month. She came home with a 8in. Dora doll on day after cashing 11.00 in cardinal cash. This reward system seems to keep the children motivated! My daughter really loves her school.

my childs school sends out papers every other week to let me know how they are doing.

We have a ball this year, my son (grade 3) and I. We recently moved from Europe to the US and he is actually teaching me how America learns. And he loves that role, even when I already know I let him explain the math, the science and all things he learns and I must say that I often pick up things that I did not know . We also love to browse internet for answers and buy second books on topics he learns at school. Now we are both learning all the names of the states and their capitols. And from my surroundings I understood that a lot of born Americans lost that knowledge. We love our life.

My children and I kept our conversation up to date on a daily basis starting as soon as I picked them up. They will be handing out their paper works from school as soon as we got home. On a daily basis for my 1st grader usually shows me what he had learned so far. My 4th grader usually do her homework and consult with me when she ran into problems. She also has an access to an interactive website for her math homework. Usually I'll have my questions or concern ready for the Parent Teacher Conference. However, since it's only once a year so I'll email the teachers for questions. If it requires immediate answers, I'll drop the kids in the morning and try to speak to the teachers before the bell rang. We also get to see what they have learned so far at the end of the year in the Open House.

It has been a little easier with our daughter than the three boys. Girls are much more expressive at age five and usually thereafter regarding days events. Rather than getting one word answers, Breanna usaully shares most of what was covered in school that day. We usually confirm this based on the papers she brings home in her book bag. We just had a parent teacher meeting Monday evening and only really learned just one new thing about our daughter because we get exceptional feedback from not only Breanna but from the powerschool website emails and report site showing progress in all daily assignments and progress along with her teacher's comments. Mostly we love all the interactive paperwork brought home for parental reinforcement. It proves to be both fun and rewarding for all of us.

My son has a speech delay so we were really nervous about him entering kindergarten and how he would adjust. His teacher suggested e-mails would be the best way for us to communicate frequently. We e-mail back and forth at least once a week. Also I went on his first field trip and actually spending a day in the classroom was the most valuable experience so far. Seeing how he doing and comparing it to his peers reassured me so much. We do go through his backpack right away every day after school and I really look forward to seeing what he is doing and reading the newsletters to get more info etc. Just staying in touch and being involved makes it easier for the teacher to share important info with you about your child and then there are no surprises at conference time.

You learn the most by talking with your child and going through that backpack and work. Talk everyday about how it went at school. You get a lot from the teachers but I have found if you stay really involved you will know a big part of what the teacher will tell you before they do. I always have questions ready for conferences.

My son is in third grade , and i joined the p.t.o. at his school. and i stay in school every friday ,and we sell popcorn.so i am very well known their (popcorn lady).and i speak with his teacher at least twice a week ,so it's very easy to know if their are any problems or concerns.

My 1st grade son has what they call a "bee book" (communication booklet) where parents and teachers send notes to each other, homework assignments, work completed in class, and things like that. I also email his teacher whenever I need to and recently we have just had his first parent teacher conference.
I volunteer in his class sometimes and am able to catch up with her brielfy during recess if I stay for lunch.
Once a month we also get a newsletter which informs us on what they are learning or have learnt in that month.

my daughters school sends home weekly reports on how she is doing and what she is struggling in.

My daughter's teacher sends home a weekly report every Friday which tells me how she is doing for the week and if she has a bad day i get a daily report on what we need to work on. and every Friday she sends home a homework package which is due on Thursday.. we also have a parent teacher meeting when all the parents can attend every third Thursday of the month. her teacher also send home a calendar every month telling me what will take place in the class for that month. if i have any questions i can come see the teacher any time and she sits with me before class starts,,, I really like the way she keeps me updated and the teacher has any major problems she has my number and I have her home number also.....i am happy and so is my 5yr with the teacher....

My daughter's teacher and I keep in touch via email. It is quick and effective. We also just met for parent conference. It was great! 30 min. There was a " SMART" discussion and a detail report not just numbers ie my child recognizes 23 out of 26 letters-helpful, now we know what letters to work on)Just like "SMART Goals(specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, timely/tangible) Which I can walk away and set for her and myself. We discussed methods she uses in the classroom ie "stretch spelling, tally marks. Reviewed samples of her work, and discussed specifics of how I can support her at home. Friendly open discussion to hear strengths, and weaknesses!
See for SMART details...
(www.topachievement.com/smart.html)

VKay

We have what is called a communication folder where the teacher and parents send notes to each other about any thing that we need to know. I also go over my child's homework Monday thur Thursday.

My child's teacher sends home a weekly newsletter that includes upcoming events, birthdays and current units. In addition the school provides a Wednesday Communication folder for every child in the school. Every other week the teacher attaches a progress report to their schoolwork. I'm able to see what my child is succeeding with and may need more guidance with. She also meets withe every parent every nine weeks.

The pre-school has a daily sheet that I can see when he eats, sleeps and how his temperment was during the day.

At least once a month I suprise my children and their teachers by staying at school in the morning for 3 hours. I get to watch what they do from the time I drop them off in the mornings through their class time.

Additionally I speak with the teachers about their progress and review homework with them every week.

Both children have workbooks (preschool and coloring book for the youngest) that they work on every night prior to watching TV.

I speak with the teacher in her pre-school class on a weekly basis and they send home what they have been working on weekly. I usually ask what can I do to reinforce the concepts they are working on each week. My daughter's preschool also gives quarterly progress reports on what they need to work on for the next quarter.

We, the parents, have already met with the teacher for a pre-school year conference and I work in her classroom every other Friday (I trade off with another mom) which helps me to learn how my daughter is doing in class.