Twelve Ways Parents Can Help Their Kids Succeed in High School

• Encourage your child to ride the bus. A frequent excuse for first-hour tardiness is "car trouble."
• Try to schedule family vacations when school is not in session.
• Make sure that your child is using the agenda and filing it out daily. Check periodically. Also look through the Hallway Passport pages in the agenda to see if the student is leaving class too much and for what purpose.
• The kitchen table may be the best place for doing homework. There are possibly fewer distractions and a parent can keep an eye on the progress.
• Help your child plan his or her school program. Decide on appropriate study times and help your child stick to them. Discuss progress frequently and check EduLink for grade updates.
• Try to have at least one adult home during the evening. Although this may be difficult at times, supervision is important. We need students that are well rested, properly attired, and well nourished.
• Help your child set reasonable academic goals at the beginning of each year and grading period. Evaluate these goals quarterly.
• When in doubt, check it out. The students’ perceptions of events at school often differ markedly from those of adults.
• In sixty percent of American homes, not a single book was brought last year, yet there are more televisions in the United States than there are households. Set a good example by reading.
• See that your child has breakfast.
• Remember that you are a key figure in your child's educational team.

Twelve Ways Parents Can Help Their Kids Succeed in High School by Robert E. Knudson, Roseville, English Teacher, Mounds View High School, St. Paul Minnesota, 1992, used by permission.