What's Up, Doc? Check Students' Progress Regularly

By Randall Freeman, PhD

It’s that time of year again. I’m not referring to the upcoming holidays – those subjects have been dealt with (repeatedly) on social media and elsewhere. Nobody wants to hear one more opinion about Christmas arriving before Thanksgiving.

I am referring to report cards and progress reports for your children and grandchildren. By this time of the year, there should be no surprises as to what progress your child is making in the classroom. All children have their academic progress regularly posted on the school’s website, available for parents to check.

If the teacher hasn’t contacted you before this time, don’t just assume that everything is going well. Check the online account and make some form of direct contact with the teacher. This could mean telephone, email, or note sent to school. (My experience has been that email is the most effective form of parent-to-teacher communication.)

Don’t count on your child to provide you with reports of progress – rewind back to when you were that child. Contact should be direct between parent and teacher. Check every couple of weeks, at a minimum.

When a child is struggling, it is extremely important to be involved with what is going on. When a parent becomes aware of the struggle, the teacher will provide critical information on what exactly the problem is so the proper intervention can be implemented. You don’t want to wait until the report card or progress report comes out before taking action. By then, it is rather too late.

Teachers conduct regular assessments of their students’ academic progress. Contact the teacher to determine what the results indicate are your child’s current strengths and weaknesses. Every student has both. Praise and strengthen the strengths, remediate to improve the weaknesses. Keep the child in the loop, make him/her an active participant in their learning. Don’t allow the child to slough off responsibility for learning onto you.

It is easier than ever to remain involved in a child’s education. Technology provides (almost) instant communication between school and home regarding any child’s academic progress. Don’t ignore the opportunity to assist your child in improving their learning and taking responsibility for their learning. They are never too young to learn how to take responsibility for their learning. They need you to guide them in the proper direction.

Randy Freeman and his family have lived in Menifee since 1993. Randy teaches kindergarten in Perris and his lovely wife Karen teaches first grade here in Menifee at Freedom Crest Elementary School. They are the proud parents of four beautiful daughters: Daniela, 18, and 14-year-old triplets Sarah, Holly, and Megan. Other family members include dogs Scruffy and Max, 17-year-old cat Hunter, and turtle Tuttles. Randy earned his PhD in early childhood education in 2011 and has served on the Menifee Union School Board since 2008. Randy has wisely decided to delete the bit about being Karen's boss in order to continue living in his happy home.