Around the last week of July through the first week of August, schools around the country start alerting parents about back-to-school night.

Back-to-school night helps you to understand the roadmap for the remainder of the school year. It empowers you with the knowledge of what your kids will be learning, and who the teachers are. You can expect to meet with teachers and administrators who can help explain upcoming curriculum and school policies. Back-to-school night helps foster trust, cooperation, and open communication between teachers and parents — a partnership that can significantly improve a student's chances of succeeding. Back-to-school night is an essential resource for parents who want to get involved at school!

Benefits of back-to-school night

Many schools limit back-to-school night to adults, so make sure the kids have a place to be while you are away. In addition to meeting teachers, school nurses, the principal, vice-principal and other staff, when heading to back-to-school night you can expect to:

• Take a tour of the school, including your child’s classroom, athletic and recreational areas, the cafeteria, libraries, and auditorium.
• Gain insight into your child’s teachers' styles and methodologies
• Hear about the grading scale teachers use in the school
• Understand the discipline plan and homework policy that the school adheres to
• Receive a detailed overview of daily classroom schedules
• Learn about policies such as tardiness, absenteeism, and bus routes and schedules
• Review emergency evacuation procedures
• Get the opportunity to sign up to become a member of the Parent Teacher Association (PTA)

Attending back-to-school night gives you a solid picture of what is expected of you and your child. Understanding the school’s expectations gives you the ability to help your child avoid breaking school policies, meet homework requirements, take advantage of extracurricular opportunities, and raise academic performance to earn higher grades.

Remember that you are not the only parent meeting with teachers at back-to-school night. Teachers are meeting a dozen or more parents at a time, many for the first time. Not only do the teachers have their own unique communication styles and personalities, so do the parents that the teachers meet.

Relax, have fun, and know that back-to-school night can help you better understand how you can help your child succeed in school!

Sources:

Back-to-school night Basics Scholastic.com

Back to School 2014. Pickens County Courier. Retrieved August 8, 2014, from yourpickenscounty.com