RECEIVING THE MIDTERM REPORTS: 

COMMUNICATION BETWEEN HOME AND SCHOOL

Communication is the foundation for all parental involvement activities at school. Typically, most parents hear from the school only when their child is in trouble. At Discovery School, we try to keep the lines of communication open, and working both ways. Parents want their students to get a good education and have fun in school. Teachers want to get through to students and provide them with a good education. Communication is the key to making this happen. When parents and teachers communicate well and work together, everyone comes out ahead—the student, the parents, and the teacher. 

Discovery School teachers take their role in effective communication with parents very seriously. Our teacher are very prompt in posting the weekly information on their grade/classroom blogs. By blogging every week, parents are informed at all times of the content and skills that are being addressed in the classroom, as well as of special activities that are coming up.  Furthermore, it is school policy for teachers to report immediately to parents any situation that may directly affect a student. This communication may come in the form of an email or a phone call, and sometimes in a note being sent home, or a request for a conference.  

Home-school communication helps teachers and parents develop strong relationships that motivate the students to work harder at school and improve their academic performance. Parents can learn basic teaching tips and concepts that assist them in reinforcing what is being taught at school. This in turn presents a unified front for each child.

When parents and teachers communicate well with each other, children benefit and are more likely to have success at school. The best way to really focus on a student’s progress is a face to face meeting between teachers and parents. Parent-teacher conferences provide this opportunity, and are an important step in creating a positive home and school communication. Parents do not need to wait until the Mid Term or Report Cards to do this. Our teachers have preparation times during the day when they can meet with parents and talk about each child’s progress or areas of opportunity. Please check your child’s schedule to see when the teacher is available to talk to you and set up an appointment. We understand that everyone has very busy schedules, so while you are able to set up an appointment with your child’s teacher, a phone call or an email may be your best alternative in keeping the communication lines open between school and home.

A healthy, honest and friendly relationship between parents and teachers contributes to the student’s learning and success at school. However, when a difficult situation arises, the best way to resolve a conflict is at a parent-teacher level. Problems are more likely to be resolved when people talk directly to each other. Everyone benefits when teachers and parents work together on behalf of the students. The school Parent-Student Handbook provides clear guidelines on the chain of communication, and what to do when one of the parties feels communication at a certain level has not been effective.

When parents and teachers communicate well and work together, everyone comes out ahead—the student, the parents, and the teacher.

The Importance of Mid Term Progress Reports 

The Discovery School teachers will be sending the first Mid Term Progress Reports this Thursday, September 12. These reports serve an important role in allowing teachers, students and parents to track how well the student is doing in school during a 4 week period, before report cards are issued at the end of each quarter. They give students a chance to correct study habits, modify their behaviors and make other changes to keep themselves on a positive academic course.

Purpose - By creating and sending home progress reports, teachers show parents where their child stand with their academic achievements and in-class behaviors. Parents may appreciate this information so that they can reward their children for doing well or make changes to the at-home schedule by implementing more study time to help kids get back on track academically.

Student Awareness – Mid term reports give students an academic advantage. They get to see how well they are in class. This helps eliminate some of the shock that comes when they get their end of the quarter or year report cards. With mid term progress reports, students have the chance to identify their improvement needs and make changes to bring their grades up before the final report cards are released.

Teacher Tracking - Teachers can track how well their students are doing in class and learning the material through school progress cards. By issuing these mid term progress reports, teachers are forced to review student strengths and weaknesses on a regular basis. The teacher can then determine whether the lesson needs to be readdressed with the class. Since teachers have classroom standards to reach, mid term progress reports can help them see whether the class is meeting those academic expectations.

Communication Link – Our mid term progress reports are just anoter communication link between teachers, students and parents. Through  them, everyone involved has the same information and understanding of the student's progress in school. This helps keep information consistent between all parties and opens the door for communication between teachers and students, students and parents and teachers and parents to the benefit of the student's education.

What to do next? – Take the time to sit down and discuss the reports with your child. Please sign and return the mid term progress reports to your child’s teacher. If you would like to discuss the mid term progress reports in a conference, and one has not been requested by a tecaher, please call the school as soon as possible to set up an appointment. Our students’ educational achievement and success are our goal, and your involment as parents is crucial in achieving this.