10 Ways to Be a Great Parent

1.  Make sure your children go to school ready to learn. In the morning scramble to get out the door on time, your children may skip breakfast or leave homework behind.  The day gets off to a much better start if they pack their backpacks the night before, get plenty of rest and have a good breakfast.

2.  Make time for homework. Set up a study area with good lighting and a dictionary, and limit television on the weeknights to be certain homework gets done.  Make reading an everyday habit.

3. Monitor your children’s academic progress. Don’t wait until report cards come out to check up on how your children are doing.  Attend scheduled parent-teacher conferences to get acquainted with their teachers, and don’t hesitate to contact teachers at other times to find out whether your children are keeping up with assignments.

4. When there’s a problem, work with the school on your child’s behalf. If your child starts to slip academically, make an appointment with the teacher to put together a plan for correcting the problem.  Teachers appreciate parents who reinforce the importance of schoolwork, and your child will have a better chance of succeeding if you and the teacher agree on a strategy. If your child has difficulties with a teacher, try to keep an open mind and find out all the facts before jumping to conclusions.  It’s always best to try to work out differences with the teachers before going over their head and complaining to the principal.

5. Attend school functions. Going to back-to-school night, the spring concert, school plays, talent shows and other school events shows your children that you value their schools.  In a 10-year study of 20,000 teenagers, Laurence Steinberg found that only one-fifth of parents regularly attended school functions, and that those who did were much more likely to have high-achieving students.

 6.  Volunteer at school. No matter what age your child is, there are many opportunities to help at school. Parents who spend their days at work or tending younger children can help in the evening by making phone calls, drafting newsletters or writing letters on behalf of the school.

7.  Take a leadership role at school. There are plenty of opportunities for parents to become decision makers at schools.  In addition to the PTA or PTO, you can offer to serve on the school site council or on a district-wide committee or task force.

8.  Evaluate your school’s Performance. {See school and principal performance reports}

9.  Help your school improve. Parents are having a direct impact on school success by organizing after-school tutoring programs, bringing in speakers for parent education programs, starting academic enrichment workshops and introducing other school improvement projects.

10. Get involved in politics. When budget cuts are threatened and valuable programs may be cut, you can help your school by writing to your local and state legislators. Understand education issues and candidates on the ballot. Make sure your voter registration is current and don’t forget to vote!