How Do I Partner with My Child’s School?

When your child has a difficult time at school, you can support their educational needs by building partnerships with their school staff. 

Below are two tools that may help with behavior concerns in the classroom. If your child is performing below grade level or has behavioral, social or emotional challenges getting in the way of their learning, learn about how to initiate an evaluation to see if they’re eligible for more school support.

A great first step is to reach out to your child’s teacher to introduce yourself and talk about ways to support your child at school. Over time, you may meet additional people at the school who can help build a team of trusted advocates. Most schools have many opportunities to meet staff, whether during drop-offs and pickups, parent-teacher conferences or school festivities. If you are unable to meet with staff during these times, consider other ways such as phone calls, handwritten notes, email or your child’s classroom portal.

Who’s Who at School

• The school psychologist has knowledge in academics, behaviors and mental health. They often are involved in leading psychoeducational evaluations and helping identify appropriate accommodations or interventions. The school psychologist also works closely with the school team to set educational goals, monitor student progress, and help staff understand resources to meet your child’s educational needs.
• If your child has a chronic health condition, the school nurse can provide school-based health care services. School nurses have many responsibilities in schools, including giving medication, providing health screenings, communicating with physicians and educating staff on health conditions.
• A social worker looks beyond grades and classroom behaviors to make sure your family’s needs are met. Social workers provide resources for transportation, housing, food, utilities, employment, and more. They also collaborate with families to connect them with resources to help promote school success. For example, if a child is hungry, it can be hard for them to focus on lessons, participate in class and complete assignments. Be sure to contact the social worker if your family needs resources.
• A mental health therapist can be a licensed clinical social worker or licensed counselor who is available for psychotherapy at school. They may be school staff or be hired by an outside mental health agency to visit the school a few days a week. If you are ever worried about your child’s mental health, you can ask if this is a service that is provided at your school.
• A school counselor can provide check-ins to discuss educational goals. They also communicate with families when concerns are present. In high school, some guidance counselors help students find jobs, prepare them for college or help them transition to independent living. School counselors are not the same as mental health counselors, so they may sometimes recommend connecting with a therapist if there are concerns about your child.

How to Work Together to Address Behavior Concerns: 

Daily Behavior Report Cards

A daily behavior report card can be an effective way for parents whose young children are struggling with disruptive behaviors at school to partner with teachers to help make positive changes.

• Partner with the school to identify two or three behaviors your child should improve.
• Use positive language on the report card that explains what your child should do rather than what not to do.
• Identify a daily point goal and a reward the child can receive for meeting their goal. It is important that the daily goal is a little challenging, yet realistic, based on the child’s current performance.
• Your child will earn points and rewards throughout the day for doing positive behaviors.
• Teachers send the daily behavior report card home. At home, you can provide your child with praise and rewards for meeting their goals at school.

This intervention is helpful because it focuses on positive reinforcement for positive behaviors. Often, children receive a lot of attention for doing negative behaviors, and these incidents are what parents hear about the most. With this intervention, children receive positive praise and feedback when they are caught doing well, and parents can learn about the positive behaviors their child did at school.

Check-In and Check-Out Interventions

Middle and high school students may benefit from check-in and check-out interventions.

• During this intervention, a student is assigned to a staff member who serves as their main contact person.
• Each morning, the child meets with the staff member for a brief check-in to discuss life updates, behavior goals for the day and ways they can have successful moments at school. If there is a daily behavior report card implemented at the school, the staff member can provide one to your child to bring to each class for teachers to complete.
• At the end of the day, your child visits their assigned staff member to review how the day went, celebrate successes and discuss what made them successful.

This system helps students build positive relationships with school personnel. This also allows your older child to practice skills such as self-advocacy, independence and accountability. You should feel empowered to communicate with the assigned staff member to discuss progress with goals.

As a parent or caregiver, you can work with your child’s school to help your child succeed. If you’ve been unable to connect with your child’s teacher, try reaching out to another member of the school staff. Together, you can work on finding the right tool to help your child.