School Doesn't Have to be Scary

What things come to your mind when you think of school?  Are they bad things are good things?  For your child to have the best school experience possible, you are going to have to get involved and stay in touch with the school.  I promise it doesn't have to be scary.  Here are some pointers when dealing with your child's school and teacher.

#1 - Establish a relationship with the teacher at the beginning or very early on.  You should meet your child's teacher, ask questions, tell the teacher some things about your child, and get contact information.  This lets the teacher know that you care about your child having the best experience possible and allows you to get in touch with the teacher if there is a problem.  It also helps you establish a relationship before any problems occur.

#2 - Always make an effort to attend parent/teacher conferences.  It is important that you understand how your child is performing because it gives you a better idea on how you can support your child.  This also gives you an opportunity to ask questions.  Don't just nod your head and smile.  If you have a question, ask it!  The purpose of a conference is to get everybody on the same page.  There is a lot of jargon in education. As a former teacher, I would sometimes "slip up" and use jargon that parents were not familiar with.  It is important to ask if you don't understand something.  It will not make you look dumb, but will actually let the teacher know that you are actively listening.

#3 - Make contact before a problem gets out of hand.  Sometimes children have problems but are afraid to tell the teacher about them.  While you need to let your child know she needs to talk to the teacher, you should also talk to the teacher.
For instance, I once had a child who was being bullied by another child in Kindergarten.  It was happening on the playground with my assistant and was not physical, so she didn't notice it.  I was not aware of the problem at all until one day his mother spoke to me about it.  We were able to take care of the problem immediately, and I even got a cute "thank you" note during writing time from him thanking me for taking care of the problem.
Teachers are not scary!  Please talk to them if you are concerned!  

I will add some more tips soon, but this will give you a good starting place.  Please ask any other questions you may have regarding school or another issue.