Get Involved! These tips have been created to help you become more involved in your child's education. As a more involved parent, you improve your child's chances to be successful in school. Each topic offers suggestions on how you can obtain additional information and assistance.

Get Involved - It Matters!

Being involved in your children's education helps them do well in school and improves the quality of your school. Here are some suggestions on how to get started. Find the time to get involved - it makes a difference!

1. Take your child to school on the first day.
2. Let your child know that school is important. Ask questions about homework and set up a quiet place for your child to work.
3. It's important to read everything that is sent home. That includes: report cards, homework assignments, school lunch plans, and vacation and bus schedules. Show your child that you are well informed.
4. Get to know your child's teachers and principal. Attend school meetings and parent/teacher conferences.
5. Ask for copies for school policies (e.g, attendance and discipline. If there is something you do not understand, ask questions.
6. Volunteer to help with school activities. Attend sport events, assist with fundraisers, or volunteer to work in the school office.
7. Visit your child's classroom when class is in session. Set this up in advance with the school office and the teacher.
8. Talk to other parents. If there is a parent organization, join it. If there is no parent organization at your school, think about starting one. Finding two or three other interested parents is a good start.
9. Encourage your child to read at home. Visit local libraries or used book mobiles, school libraries, or book fairs to pick out books together. Pick out books for each other to read.
10. Being involved in a child's education is just as important for step-parents, grandparents, and other adults who care for a child.
11. Invite step-parents, grandparents, and other adults who care for your child, to participate in school activities.
12. Your actions, not just your words, make an impression that will last a lifetime.

For more information, call 1-800-USA-LEARN

Homework

Homework is a regular part of school and you can help your child establish good homework habits. Teachers give homework for many good reasons. Homework helps students' practice and review class lessons, gets students ready for the next lessons, teaches them how to work on their own and how to use dictionaries, encyclopedia, libraries, and the internet.

1. Set up regular time and a quiet place for your child to work. Try to place it away from TV's radios, or other loud noise.
2. Have your child get all of the materials needed for the work. Pens, pencils, erasers, calculator, paper, books and highlighters should be placed in one area. This will save time and help your child focus.
3. Make a homework calendar. During the school day, have your child fill in all homework by the date that it is due. Many teachers have their classes do this anyway, and you can help your child plan assigned homework time.
4. If your child is having trouble with homework, talk to each teacher about homework; it may be too hard, or there may be other problems in the classroom. The school may be able to offer tutoring or extra help.
5. Ask your child for any teacher comments on homework assignments.
6. If your child misses school, have a friend or classmate share homework assignments.
7. Remember, neatness does count. Don't let your child eat or drink while doing homework.
8. Suggest that your child do homework, then take a short break (snack, play outside, or watch some TV), then go back and recheck the work. It's easier to catch simple mistakes with fresh eyes.

Resources for homework help for Students: www.HomeworkSpot.com
For Parents: www.ParentSmart.com

Parent's Rights

There may be times when you need to be an advocate for child's education—someone who tries to make sure that your child's educational rights are upheld. In order to be a good advocate, you need to be informed. The information listed here can help you.

1. You have the right to examine your child's school records and look at test results and teacher comments. If you see things you don't understand, ask the teacher or school principal for an explanation.
2. If your child is in a special education class, you have the right to be part of the developing an individual education plan that will help meet your child's needs. This was created by the Federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
3. You have the right to request, in writing, that your child not be physically punished for breaking school rules.
4. You have the right to request that your child be excused from school activities that go against religious or moral beliefs. This also extends to other reasonably grounded beliefs.
5. If your child is suspended from school, you have the right to ask for a review.
6. Your child has the right to be protected from unreasonable searches on school grounds.
7. You have the right to challenge school policies that do not allow children to participate in sports activities because of their sex.
8. If your child attends a Title I school, the law requires you to be involved in decisions about programs and activities that affect your child. A Title I school receives federal funds for low-income children who may need extra help to succeed. Your child school principal will know if your school is a Title I school.

For more information, call 1-800-USA-LEARN

Readiness to Read and Reading

Parents who help their children learn to read also help them to have a more successful school experience. Teaching your child to read can be a rewarding experience for parent and child.

For more information, order Helping Your Child Learn to Read by the US Department of Education, at 1-800-USA-LEARN.

1. Start young. In just a few months, an infant can sit with you, look at pictures, and hear your voice. Point and name familiar objects at home.
2. Stimulate your baby's interest with special effects. Change the tone of your voice, sing nursery rhymes, bounce your knee, and make funny faces.
3. Allow your child to touch and hold sturdy cardboard books.
4. When reading to your baby, be brief but read to them as often as you can.
5. When reading to child, follow the words with your finger so that your child learns to follow from left to right.
6. Rhymes are a great way for children to enjoy and understand the repetitive sounds.

Older Children:

1. Promote reading as a fun activity. Always keep books in your home.
2. Talk and listen to your children. Language is like a four-legged stool; speaking, listening, reading, and writing are its parts, and each supports the other.
3. Read with your kids every chance you get, even if it's just a small section of the newspaper. Turn the TV off.
4. Set an example. Your child should see you reading and should understand that you read for pleasure as well as information.
5. Monitor your children's schoolwork and applaud their efforts.

The National Reading Panel produces objectives reports about what works and what doesn't in reading. Check online at www.NationalReadingPanel.org, or call 1-800-USA-LEARN.

Note: If English is your second language, read to your child in your first language as well as English.