At Home...
You can be involved in your child's education in many ways, and the research suggests that involvement that focuses on extending your child's school learning at home has great results.
- Know what your child will be learning each year at school. A good online resource for this is provided by Scholastic. Click on your child's grade and then on What's Up at School?
- Ask your child's teacher for the specific areas she will cover in each subject this year. For example, if you know in advance that 5th grade focuses on American History and 6th grade on World History, you can find natural opportunities to reinforce these topics at home.
- Organizing a homework center for your child, planning at-home learning activities, and seeking help for learning difficulties are proactive strategies for enriching you child's mastery of elementary academics.
At School...
- Are you concerned about the quality of your child's school and want to be involved in its improvement? PTO Today gives parents the tools to start and maintain an effective parent-teacher association in their school.
PTA is a national organization that has advocated for children's school issues for decades. Whether independent or affiliated, parent-school groups can make a good school a great one.
- Take advantage of parent-teacher conferences to find out what you can do to help your child improve his school performance. Use these ideas to make the most of your parent-teacher conference.
- Some teachers use email and class web sites to invite parent involvement. Swap emails with your child's teacher so that you can stay in touch. School web sites vary in the quality of their design and information, but usually provide at the least contact and schedule information. Find your school site quickly by typing in the city, state, and school at Google. If your school has a great web site, nominate it for Cool School of the Week at Education World.
