Once a school year be-gins, many students spendmore time in the classroomwith their teachers than theydo at home with their par-ents. That’s especially truein dual-income householdswhere both parents workoutside of the home.

Though many parentswould love to spend moretime with their children,doing so can be difficultwhen both parents must goto work every day. Becausekids spend so much timewith their teachers, it’s im-portant for parents to worktoward building a strong par-ent-teacher relationship.

Such a relationship fosterscommunication, which canhelp a young student do hisor her best in and out of theclassroom, something that’sa goal for parents and teach-ers alike. Parents interestedin developing a strong rela-tionship with their kids’teachers can take severalsteps to make that happen.

* Meet your child’steacher at the beginning ofthe year. Teachers havemany students come in andout of their classroom onany given day, so it can behard for teachers to initiatea relationship with parents.Parents have significantly

fewer children tolook after, so theyshould take the firststep toward buildinga relationship withteachers. Introduceyourself at the onsetof the school year,providing phonenumbers and e-mailaddresses where youcan be reached. Letthe teacher knowyou’re available fordiscussion any timeduring the schoolyear and that youlook forward to thecoming school yearand working with theteacher as the yearprogresses.

* Attend “Back toSchool Night.” Schoolevents like an openhouse or a “Back toSchool Night” are agreat way to helpkids grow acclimated

to their school. But suchevents also make great op-portunities for parents tolearn more about their kids’teachers than they mighthave learned during their in-troductory meeting. Suchevents may allow teachers toexplain the curriculum forthe upcoming year, andteachers may feel encour-aged when parents show anactive interest in suchevents.

* Prioritize parent-teacher conferences. Parent-teacher conferences are agreat opportunity for par-ents to speak to their chil-dren’s teacher one-on-one.Unlike an introductory meet-ing or an open house at thebeginning of the school year,

a parent-teacher conferenceallows parents and teachersto specifically discuss stu-dents in private. Teachersmay provide insight intohow a child is performingand behaving in the class-room, offering advice as tohow to improve that per-formance or suggestions asto how to encourage kids tokeep up the good work. Suchconferences may be youronly opportunity for a one-on-one, in-person discussionabout your child, so makesure you’re on time and that

you don’t miss these confer-ences. Your child’s teacherwill appreciate it, and youcan use this as an opportu-nity to ask any questionsyou have about your child.

* Keep the channels ofcommunication open. If it’sbeen awhile since you’vespoken to your child’steacher, don’t be afraid to e-mail the teacher to check inor see if you can lend a help-ing hand. In addition, if yourchild really enjoys ateacher’s class, don’t be hes-itant to share that with the

teacher. Teachers appreciatecompliments just like otherprofessionals, and parentsshould express their grati-tude to those teachers whoare working hard to makelearning fun for their young-sters.

Establishing a strong rela-tionship with a child’steacher can help parents en-sure students are making themost of their time in theclassroom.

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Building A Strong Parent–Teacher Relationship

Developing a strong relationship with a child’s teacher can help parents ensure their kids are doing their best in the classroom.

PAGE 4B PRESS & DAKOTAN n SATURDAY, JULY 27, 2013