So reaching a teacher can be a challenge. But parents can stay in touch by dropping a note to the teacher, leaving a message with the main office or stealing a minute with the teacher at the beginning or the end of the school day. Parent-teacher conferences are for parents to meet with a teacher to discuss their child' s performance. The key to a successful meeting with a teacher is to ask questions. Sloan suggests writing them out beforehand, rather than winging it.
Parents also can communicate indirectly with teachers.
Bobbie Seelig, a third-grade teacher at Magnolia Elementary School in Carlsbad, said many teachers create Web sites to post daily homework assignments and tests. He might come home and say there' s no homework, and then you check the site and find out, yes, there is. Many teachers are open to sending home special homework geared toward the needs of a child. One of the worst things we can do as teachers is have a parent come on campus to observe the classroom. But parents should stay in touch, she said.