1. Take your child to school on the first day.
2. Let your child know that school is important. Be sure to ask questions
about homework, and set up a quiet place for your child to work.
3. Read everything that is sent home from school—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
school principal by attending school
meetings and parent-teacher conferences.
5. Ask for copies of school policies (e.g., attendance, discipline, homework). Ask
questions if there something you do not understand.
6. Volunteer to help out with school activities. Attend sports events, help out with
fundraisers, or volunteer to work in the school office.
7. Visit your child’s classroom when class is in session, not just at parent-teacher
conferences. 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 use book mobiles,
school libraries, or book fairs and pick out books together. Choose books for each other
to read.
10. Being involved in a child’s education is just as important for stepparents, grandparents, and other adults who care
for a child. Invite them to participate in home and school learning opportunities.
11. Get involved in school funding, planning and improvement efforts through school improvement teams or school
board participation.
12. Your actions, not just your words, make an impression that could last a lifetime.
Adapted from U.S. Department of Education, Office of Communications and Outreach, Empowering Parents School Box:
Taking a Closer Look, and 100 Tips for Parents, Washington, D.C., 2007.
The NH Parents Make the Difference website is a collaboration between the Parent Information Center of NH and the
NH Department of Education. This website is supported with funding from the US Department of Education through
the NH State PIRC grant of the Natonal PIRC program.
© 2010 The Parent Information Center of NH
Watch the Video
Life After High School: UNH’s
John T. (Ted) Kirkpatrick and other
panelists discujss the challenges
facing high school graduates, and
what can be done to help. From
the March 2011 P4E Conference.
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COMING SOON!
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