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6. Discuss with your principal how you as a parent can assist your child in meeting or exceeding
state academic standards. Request that your principal use Title I Parent Involvement funds to offer training for parents interested in helping their children improve academically.
7. Parents will also want to know if teachers receive test results in a timely fashion so that they can be used to improve instruction.
8. What is your school district doing about test anxiety? One of best ways to reduce test anxiety is to make sure students are well prepared with concepts, skills and knowledge on which they will be tested.
9. Parent must contact their principal to find out how student achievement levels compare to other districts, and states, by subject and student group.
10. Parent must always contact their state legislator if they are not satisfied with school funding. You put them in office to work for you. It’s about time you now hold them accountable.
The reality is that parents are their child’s first teacher and if parents are stumbling through educational maze they will not do a good job of making sure they are providing best education possible for their child.
Parents must know what questions to ask and what answers should be received. No longer can we rest on our laurels, work fifty or sixty hours a week and expect others to assure our student’s achievement. Knowledge is power, and that has never been more true than today.
Detra D. Davis has been writing how-to-books for over 20 years. Author of A Matter of Record: Keeping Track of Your Child Support, this tool is for both custodial and non-custodial parents. Email Detra at: detra_davis@supportingourchildren.com, or by mail: J. Davis & Associates, P. O. Box 4935, Cary, NC 27513-4935, To learn more visit: www.supportingourchildren.com
