School and Home Partnership

This past Friday, wrapped up our fall parent/teacher conferences.  I wanted to thank all of you who were able to attend and hope that if you were not, that you and your child's teacher will be able to catch up to ensure that your child is "on track" both academically and socially.  The most meaningful part of a conference is for a parent, teacher, and student to review progress, and then develop a clear plan together as to how the next goal or benchmark will be reached.  We all want students to make growth, regardless of where they are on the academic and social continuum.  It is for that reason, that the overall plan be agreed upon and addressed as a team.  Is homework a struggle? Are assignments not being turned in? Does organization seem to get in the way of progress? Is math or reading a challenge?  All of these topics can be barriers to success and we are committed to do everything we can to see that your child is making the necessary progress excel in life.  To that end, we need to work together to assure that this occurs.  As a parent, you should never feel as though you can't teach.  We need to work together to continue the learning and support for it beyond the classroom.  Many of the things that you can do are very simple and have huge academic gains for children.  An example of this is in the power of words.  Having children read 15 minutes a day will expose your child to 1,000,000 words annually. If your child can't read, then read to them.  It is that exposure to text that is so important to building one's vocabulary and background knowledge. The other thing I would say is to have discussions about what your child reads or you read to them.  This builds one's comprehension and forces us to make meaning of the words we see and read.  It doesn't seem like a lot, but it is. Take the conference "plan" for success and help us at home be committed to it.  As a team, (school, parent, student) success is easy.  Thanks for being at conferences.