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. They can request weekly or monthly progress reports. They just say whether the kids are turning in their homework and how they' re doing on tests. Parents with struggling students can go a step further.