Monfredo: It’s Back to School Time - Parents Are Key to a Great Year

Saturday, August 24, 2019

John Monfredo, GoLocalWorcester MINDSETTER

John Monfredo

“Education is like a baseball game, it needs all its players: parent, teacher, community, and students”

This Monday is the start of a new school year. The inevitable last minutes of summer are ticking away. The countdown is closing in for the back to school schedule is here. As a former principal and now as a School Committee Member I have been a strong advocate of partnerships between the home and the school. Research continues to show that the best predictors of students’ achievement in school are when families:

Create homes that encourage learning
Express high yet realistic expectations for their children
Become involved in their children’s education at school and in the community.

As I would always state to my staff, “A parent is a child’s first and most influential teacher and our job is to reach out and have them as part of the educational process.” Research shows that no matter what the parents income or background was students with involved parents earned higher grades and test scores, enrolled in higher-level programs, attended SCHOOL REGULARLY, had better social skills, showed improved behavior, adapted well to school and graduated and went on to post-secondary education. Parents can make a real difference in their child’s education by encouraging them to talk about their day and by listening to them explain the events at school. Talking to your child about school sends a message that you value their education and the discussions provide an opportunity for children to use language they are learning in school.

Parents, here are some questions to help you consider your contributions to your child’s success at school. (answer yes or no)

Parenting:

Have you set aside a place and time in your home for your child to do homework?
Do you monitor your child’s homework?
Do you monitor your child’s television viewing habits?
Do you ensure that your child has EXCELLENT ATTENDANCE at school?
Do you support and reinforce the school’s discipline plan?
Do you support your child’s learning by providing nutritious meals and adequate time for sleep (at least 8 hours)?

Learning at Home:

Do you read to your child? If your child is older, do you encourage reading by paying attention to what your child reads as well as how often he/she reads?
Do you hold your child responsible for completing all assignments on time and to the best of his/her ability?
Have you taken the time to find out what information and skills your child should master at his/her grade level or subject matter areas?

Communicating:

Do you read the school’s newsletter and other bulletins sent home?
Are you familiar with the extracurricular events or academic programs taking place at schools (tutoring, band, and counseling)?
Do you make appointments during the year to visit your child’s teacher for information or just for support?
Are you familiar on how the school grades your child?

If you can honestly say that yes to most of those questions you are a strong partner in your child’s education. As one who has been involved in education most of my adult life and an advocate of literacy for our children, I would like to strongly suggest, come this school year, that you do all that you can to promote literacy (reading and writing ) in your home.

Moving forward, starting on Monday, here are four important things that your child can do to improve the academic quality of his or her school year.

Get Organized … Organization is not overrated. Keeping notes, projects and reading material in logical order assists students to find what they need immediately thus cutting down on time spent tracking things down and allowing more time for studying.
Take Good Notes … Yes, it certainly does matter. Taking good notes helps keep your children’s grades up, especially in middle or high school. That’s one of the many skills being taught in the AVID program in the Worcester Public Schools. To boost note taking skills, students should practice picking out the main idea in conversations, new reports, or magazine articles.
Concentration …Staying focused is easier for some students than others. Students need to do their best to avoid distractions in class. This means keeping cell phones tucked away and powered off.
Speak up … Students often can get tripped up by homework or test instructions. They need to know that it’s okay to speak up if they don’t understand testing or homework directions.

At home parents need to set up priorities such as bedtime, for sleep is at the center of a healthy lifestyle and your child needs to get off to a good start at school. According to research it’s essential that parents keep a bedtime routine especially during school time. Another suggestion is an hour before bedtime put away all electronic devises to help them wind down and use that time for reading before turn they in for the night.

Another wellness tip is for children to have a healthy diet for wellness and academics do go hand in hand. Eating fruits and vegetables is essential as well as making sure that your child has the proper amount of physical exercise. Remember healthy students tend to do well in school.

Other ideas that I would suggest parents do are as follows:

Review the school’s handbook and the district’s web site
Work on having your child have “PERFECT ATTENDANCE” for yes, ATTENDANCE does matter and it’s listed as an accountability factor in all school settings.
Contact the teacher immediately if your child doesn’t understand an assignment or if you notice a change in your child’s behavior or school performance.
Worth mentioning… participate in parent meetings and conferences and special events at the school. Do join the school’s Parent organization and ask to be on the school’s site council.

Best wishes for a great school year and should you need any advice or assistance please feel free to contact me at [email protected].

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Monfredo: It’s Back to School Time - Parents Are Key to a Great Year

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