A lot of high school students don’t enjoy being vocal about how things are going in school. You may not be aware of how their grades look until you have a report card in front of you, or have no idea who their favorite or least favorite teachers are. Fortunately, most teachers do offer ways to keep high school parents involved in their children’s education; it’s just a matter of utilizing the available resources.

Start out on the right foot by always attending the school’s beginning of the year open night. This is a way for you to meet your child’s teachers and get a sense for how their class will be conducted throughout the year. You will better understand the curriculum and the grading scale, what kind of assignments there will be and what will be expected of your child. Take notes so that you can be ready to ask  your child about how certain things are going, or know when a big assignment or test is coming up and be able to help them prepare.

Utilize the communication tools that the teachers offer. We live in a digital age and a lot of teachers are now providing information electronically. Many teachers offer class websites and set up email programs to keep parents informed of assignments, personal issues, fundraising opportunities including high school apparel and more. With these kinds of systems, teachers can send directly to parents: grades, assignments, missing assignments, behavior logs, attendance data and more, all in an easy to use email format. This way there is no risk of the student intercepting any grade or behavior notice before they can find their way to you. Or if a student has waited until the last minute and has forgotten he guidelines of an assignment, it is easy to log on to the class website and obtain the information from there.

Another benefit of electronically keeping parents up-to-date on students’ progress is that the parents are easily able to contact the teacher as well. If a parent is wondering about some of their child’s behavioral issues or a recent test score, it is easy to send out a note to the teacher at any convenient time of day. Also, if a parent and child are having trouble understanding an assignment, check the class website and the answers will probably be found there.

So take advantage when these options are available. It may seem strange to have all of this online contact, but in the end it is more convenient and practical. Of course, if your home does not have a computer, teachers will be accommodating and still provide hard copy materials, just be sure to let them know.