Family Involvement
by Jame Oram
TMS Principal
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I hope you found your holidays to be a restful and fun time with your family. It did not take long for the Trenton R-9 students and staff to settle into the school routine. We are busy at Trenton Middle School. Teachers are implementing third quarter material and students are working hard to master many of the necessary skills for their grade level. Third quarter seems to be a difficult quarter for more students because teachers are introducing new material and preparing the students for MAP testing in the spring.
As a parent or guardian, you can be a strong influence in the success of your student in school. Family involvement is critical to school success and involvement is important starting at preschool and continuing through the high school years. When children are in preschool and primary grades, reading to them helps build the background knowledge which can lead to success in reading and reading achievement. As children progress through the grades and reach the middle school years, students have a need to be independent and they are less likely to want a parent or guardian to check their schoolwork or help them with it. Yet, family involvement is critical to the success for a student, not only in middle school, but high school as well. Here are some ideas to be involved in the middle and high school years.
Build a positive relationship with your child’s teachers, school counselor and principal. The best way to get acquainted is at parent/teacher conferences and school functions. If work schedules do not allow you to attend, call the child’s teacher and arrange for a conference. Talk to the teacher about the lessons being taught, activities, where your child sits in the classroom. This will help you get a picture of what your child does every day.
Build a positive relationship with your child. In today’s hectic world and busy schedules, it is hard for families to share time together. Establishing a family meal time is a key time to talk about school, what is going on in the world and funny things that happen during the day. Kids sometimes forget to tell parents of what is going on at school. Parents can get on the school email list and receive the school bulletin through the internet or check the R-9 School District website for important dates and events. Listen to KTTN or read the Republican-Times for they do an excellent job of reporting school events and activities.
Take time in the evening to discuss school and complete homework. At the middle school, many times students are not assigned “homework”; what they are to do is complete the work they did not finish at school. It is a parent’s responsibility to establish a home routine which includes study time so students can complete their work. This study time teaches good study and work habits which will last a lifetime.
Teach your child to manage their time. Expect them to be at school, on time, every day. This involves completing schoolwork in the evening, organizing clothing, notes, books and establishing a place to keep school items.
Encourage your child to participate in church youth groups, clubs, organizations or sports. This helps the child to develop positive relationships with other kids. By the same token, do not let the kids become overscheduled. Students need to have time to spend at home with the family.
Talk about college or technical school with your child. Talk about different colleges, technical school and the classes and skills required to enroll.
These are just a few suggestions of how to be involved with your child’s education. Parental involvement and concern is the answer to many of the academic, discipline, attendance and tardiness problems facing teachers and students. Please feel free to call me at Trenton Middle School if there are any concerns or questions.