Parent Talk!: The Art of Effective Communication With the School and Your Child

Introduction.

Section 1: Summer.

Snapshot 1: My Child Has the Back-to-School Blues.

Snapshot 2: I Am Recently Divorced and Have Sole Custody of My Child.

Snapshot 3: My Child Does Not Speak English.

Snapshot 4: My Child’s Friend Is a Bad Influence.

Snapshot 5: My Child Is Gifted and I Want Her Placed in the Gifted Program.

Snapshot 6: My Child Is Failing at a High-Performing School.

Snapshot 7: My Child’s Health Needs to Be Monitored and He Must Take Medication Daily.

Snapshot 8: My Child Has Diabetes.

Snapshot 9: I Just Moved to a New Community: How Do I Find a School for My Child?

Snapshot 10: My Child Does Not Want to Wear the School Uniform.

P.S. Practice What to Say When They Say . . ..

Section 2: Fall.

Snapshot 11: I Can’t Attend Open House.

Snapshot 12: My Child’s School Has Mildew.

Snapshot 13: The School Is Always Doing Fundraisers.

Snapshot 14: My Child Came Home Without Eating Lunch.

Snapshot 15: Why Should I Have to Volunteer in Another Classroom?

Snapshot 16: My Child Does Not Have Textbooks.

Snapshot 17: The School Bus Is Failing to Pick Up My Child.

Snapshot 18: I Must Drop Off My Child Very Early at School.

Snapshot 19: My Child’s Books Are Too Heavy for Her to Carry.

Snapshot 20: I Am Worried My Child Is Failing.

Snapshot 21: The School’s Pickup and Drop-Off Procedure Is Disorganized.

Snapshot 22: My Child Is Not Getting Enough Homework.

Snapshot 23: The Teacher Can’t Write Correctly.

Snapshot 24: My Child Is Fifteen Minutes Late to Class Daily.

Snapshot 25: My Child’s Homework Takes Up Too Much Time.

Snapshot 26: The School Newspaper Has Grammatical Errors.

Snapshot 27: The School Cafeteria Never Has Any Variety.

P.S. Practice What to Say When They Say . . ..

Section 3: Winter.

Snapshot 28: My Child Does Not Enjoy Reading.

Snapshot 29: My Child’s Behavior Has Changed Since He Left Elementary School.

Snapshot 30: My Child Gets Sick Every Day at the Same Time.

Snapshot 31: My Child’s Classmate Threatened to Bring a Gun to School.

Snapshot 32: I Never Know What Is Happening at the School.

Snapshot 33: My Child Wrote on a Wall After Being Influenced by His Peers.

Snapshot 34: The Teacher Is Picking on My Child.

Snapshot 35: A Disruptive Classmate Is Hitting My Child.

Snapshot 36: My Child Is Being Suspended for Fighting, While the Child Who Started the Fight Is Not.

Snapshot 37: My Daughter Is Being Sexually Harassed by Another Student.

Snapshot 38: My Child Is Always Getting into Trouble; I Feel the Staff at School Is Picking on Him.

Snapshot 39: My Child Told Me There Are Drugs in His School.

Snapshot 40: My Child Got Three F’s on His Report Card.

Snapshot 41: I Don’t Understand the Results from My Child’s Standardized Test.

Snapshot 42: The Teacher Gives Too Many Projects.

P.S. Practice What to Say When They Say . . ..

Section 4: Spring.

Snapshot 43: My Child Has Food Allergies and Could Not Participate in the Multicultural Food Festival.

Snapshot 44: My Child Was Shown an Inappropriate Movie in School.

Snapshot 45: The Teacher Was Not Fair in Grading My Child’s Project.

Snapshot 46: My Child Is Being Retained.

Snapshot 47: My Child Broke His Leg and the School Never Called Me.

Snapshot 48: The School Is Always Asking for Money.

Snapshot 49: I Am Concerned About Adult Supervision at the End-of-the-Year Dance.

Snapshot 50: The Summer Break Is Too Long and My Child Will Forget All She Has Learned.

Snapshot 51: The School Wants My Child to Keep a Summer Journal.

Snapshot 52: My Child Has Come Down With “Summeritis”.

P.S. Practice What to Say When They Say . . ..

Epilogue.

Share Your Snapshots.

Appendix A: From One Parent to Another: Worksheets for Your Child’s School Success.

Appendix B: Bringing the Art of Communication to You: Workshops and Coaching Programs.

About the Authors.