A recent University of New Hampshire study shows that students do better in school when their parents are actively involved in their education. Sounds obvious. An interesting point made says that school districts would need to spend an additional $1,000 per pupil in order to achieve the same results gained when parents are involved. Read more.

How do parents who work full time, travel, may be single, or who have multiple children in different schools (or a combination of these challenges) stay involved? Get creative. There are plenty of ways that parents can stay involved – even if they cannot act as ‘room parent’ or coordinate the end of the year ice cream social. Here are ten ways to stay actively involved when your time is already stretched to its limits:

1. Show the teacher and school your support. Begin the year with friendly emails to pertinent teachers and prinicipals so that they may get to know you, your areas of expertise (with a nice offer to help the school if possible) and any concerns you may have.

2. Get creative. When my second and third children were young and I had one in elementary school, I could not physically help out in the classroom. However, I could search for resources to help the teacher with an upcoming unit, email parents to coordinate an event, or prepare materials or send in supplies.

3. Make time for conferences and parent open houses. Put those dates on your calendar early and honor them. These are ways to get basic information and feel connected to the school community.

4. Talk to you child about school. Go beyond the standard ‘How was your day?’ and ask specific questions about various activities, subjects, and friends to get a sense of your child’s school day.

5. When you see a teacher or other staff member at the school go out of his or her way to do something kind, creative, or beneficial for your child or for the school, recognize and acknowledge it. A brief email with a copy sent to a supervisor shows gratitude and makes a teacher feel valued.

6. If you can, offer your expertise and/or services to the school. Schools and PTA’s are always looking for ways to raise funds, meet needs, and stretch dollars for the benefit of children. If you can sponsor the costs of printing a publication, your advertisement will likely fill the back cover. Donate to the PTA’s silent auction. If your expertise lends itself to something that must be done and paid for by the school or the PTA, you might consider a bro bono project to help them save some money.

7. It’s not taboo to ‘drop in’ on your child’s school. If you have a busy schedule but find yourself ahead of deadline on a Thursday afternoon, go and have lunch with your child, say ‘hello’ to the staff at the school, or just observe an activity.

8. Realize that your child’s school does not exist in a vacuum. Every teacher must answer to a principal who must answer to curriculum directors, superintendents, and regulatory bodies. The list goes on. If you have a question or concern, try to address it to the appropriate person. Don’t be afraid to ask questions!

9. Make time to sit with your child and review his schoolwork, tests, art projects, etc. so that you know what he has been up to at school, and so that he gets another pair of eyes seeing his hard work. Praise when appropriate and try to offer constructive criticism to challenge your child to grow.

10. Whatever you do, communicate your high expectations to your child and to the school. Praise both when it is deserved, and be sure that you have paved the way for effective communication should a problem or concern arise.

Heather