Our schools are at the end of the first academic quarter. That means it’s time for parents to visit with teachers to discuss their children’s progress in school. The best we can do for all of our children is to have a parent-teacher-student team approach.
Here are some recommendations for parents to make the conference helpful for their children in school:
Make it an effort to go to the conference. We get good conference attendance from parents in elementary grades. It starts to drop off in middle school.
By high school, many parents stop coming. Please make every effort to come and talk to high school teachers.
The teen years are so critical to becoming a responsible adult. If your schedule makes it impossible to come to school, phone or e-mail teachers with questions or concerns.
· Talk to your student before you go to school. Anything unclear at school? What does your student like or dislike about the class?
· The best conferences are two-way conversations. Teachers want to know more about their students. Ask questions about the work done in school, share what your child says about school, and get to know the teacher better.
· Leave with a plan in mind. How are you going to help more at home?
· Talk to your student about your conference and share what the teacher said.
The home-school connection can be one of the most powerful factors in our students’ success. If you know any parents of school youngsters, please encourage them to get to conferences!

John Jarpe is the superintendent of Brandywine Community Schools. He can be reached at (269) 684- 7150.