School district offers ways to monitor your child

As students return to school many parents want to be more involved in their child's education, but aren't quite sure how to do it.

The Mountain Home School District has a number of resources available, however, that can help parents track their child's progress.

The most extensive resource available requires that you have access to a computer, either at home, work or at the public library.

"The district's website is an excellent resource," said Tim McMurtrey, director of curriculum for the school district.

The site, www.mtnhomesd.org, provides a wealth of information about policies and procedures, as well as the school calendar. One section, called "Parent Connect," is particularly useful in tracking your child's progress.

Parents do an initial registration on line, then go to the school (the guidance counselors in the secondary schools and the front office for elementary schools) in order to receive a password after presenting proper ID. With that password they can access their child's school records.

Parents can find out about their child's grades, attendance and any discipline problems noted by their child's teacher. Not all discipline problems result in the school sending a note home (and not all notes make it home), but the site lists any items of concern.

Missed classes and tardies for each specific class are listed. In the past, parents received an automated call that simply said their child was "absent or missing from one or more classes" during the day (that system still is in use), but the website can provide more detail.

Many teachers also list assignments for the day, as well, and whether or not they were turned in.

The system is a pilot project for the state funded largely though the Albertson's Foundation. Currently, the high school, junior high and Hacker are on line with the system, and the elementary schools will be brought on line in the next few months.

The web site also lists e-mail addresses for your child's teachers and administrators, allowing parents to correspond with the staff as necessary.

In addition, each school has its own website that provides specific information about that school and its schedules for activities and tests.

Parents also can find out about the curriculum being taught in each class, such as what topics the teacher will be covering during specific times of the year. Although that section is constantly revised, it can help parents get a general idea of what a teacher is covering in class. Requirements for successfully completing the class also are listed.

But what if you don't have a computer readily available?

"If you have questions," McMurtrey said, "pick up the phone and call. They'll get back to you." But, McMurtrey said, don't get too impatient. "You have one child. The teacher has 30 to 180. But they will get back to you. The teachers are more than willing to respond."

In the middle school, students also are given an "agenda," a notebook containing basic information and where teachers list assignments for the day and grades issued. "The minute your child walks in the door, ask for the agenda. Teachers write notes in them and parents can check their child's progress," McMurtrey said.

Parents at all levels also can request a daily note. "Assuming the child delivers it, teachers will respond," noting assignments completed or not, attendance, and any behavior problems that might have occured during the day.

In addition, all schools send out weekly or montly bulletins describing general activities and events at the school, "although you may have to dig through your child's backpack to find it," McMurtrey said. "Kids aren't always the best at making sure every item gets home and receives your attention."

If you're concerned about some aspect of your child's education, "meet with the counselors and set up a system," McMurtrey said, such as having one of the daily reports signed by the teacher and sent home.

McMurtrey also strongly urged parents to take part in parent-teacher conferences, as a way of getting to know the teacher and to get first-hand feedback on your child's performance in class. Typically, the fall conferences are better attended than the spring conferences, and parents of children in elementary schools utilize them more than those in secondary schools. But, McMurtrey said, that process is being reviewed to try and find ways to improve parental turnout at the conferences.

In addition, every school has a back to school night early in the school year, and often several other times during the year. Those events are designed primarily to get students, teachers and parents together.

And, parents can make arrangements to sit in on a class (principals and administrators do that on a regular basis so an adult body in the back of the room isn't all that unusual).

There are other good ways to get involved with your child, McMurtrey noted.

Every school has a parent group that meets roughly once a month. That's a good way to share experiences and to help out with school projects that need volunteers. In addition, many extracurricular activities have support groups, but just showing up for your child's concert or game "can have a huge impact on your child," his or her enjoyment of school, and "shows that you care, which makes a big difference to a lot of children," McMurtrey said, and helps them enjoy their school experience.

If your child seems to be having a problem with a teacher, the district suggests making direct contact with that teacher. "Try and work things out with the teacher first. If that doesn't work, then go to the building principal," McMurtrey advised. "Don't start at the district office. That's the last resort. If you call here first, you'll get directed immediately to your child's teacher. Start where the problem is, and then work your way up if you don't get satisfaction.

"If you don't work the system, you may not get the full story," he noted. But, he added, "we take complaints seriously. We always try and resolve them. By and large, the system works, but just remember the system is made up of human beings."

Overall, McMurtrey said, the resources are available for parents to get as involved in their child's education as they want. "Few parents really get detail involved. It's not that they don't want to, but they get busy. It's our society. It's not the '50s anymore.

"Today, we're a technological society. But we know not everyone has a computer. If you don't, just pick up a phone. One way or the other, if you want to get involved, we'll find a way to do it for you."