Quality Public Education for All New Jersey Students

 

Property Taxes, School Funding issues
     Pre 2012 Announcement Archives
     2012-13 Announcement Archives
     2013-14 Announcement Archives
     2014-15 Announcement Archives
     Old Announcements prior April 2009
     ARCHIVE inc 2007 Announcements
     2009 Archives
     2008 Archives
     2007 Archives
     2006 Archives
     2010-11 Announcements
     2005 through Jan 30 2006 Announcements
IT'S ALSMOST BACK TO SCHOOL TIME - GOOD INFO FOR PARENTS
Getting ready for your children going back to school? Here are some thoughtful suggestions from 'School Matters', a Standard and Poors publication.

Issue 6 - August 2008


Avoid First-Day Jitters

The first day of school can be overwhelming for some children. Parents can help ease the situation and calm first-day jitters by talking with children and helping them prepare for what to expect.

This checklist from
Back2School.com is a great place to start:

  • Arrange for your child to play with others in his age group before classes start.
  • Discuss your child's feelings about starting school and talk over any concerns.
  • Talk with your child about his daily school schedule.
  • Talk about peer pressure with your child.
  • Have your child memorize your home address and home and work phone numbers.
  • Tour the school with your child so she can find her classrooms, the restrooms, and the cafeteria.
  • Arrange a time for you and your child to meet his new teachers.

These easy steps will help make your child's first day back to school a success! For more tips like this, visit SchoolMatters.com and click on the Back2School link.



Making the Most of Parent-Teacher Conferences

Many parents make the mistake of thinking that a parent-teacher conference is only about the teacher giving feedback on a child’s performance. However, these one-on-one meetings are also a great opportunity for you to share valuable information about your child.

To make the most of this face-to-face time, follow these three steps.

  1. Come prepared: Give teachers the same courtesy you would any business meeting. Plan ahead the questions you want to ask and what you think is important for your child's teacher to know.
  2. Agree on discipline strategies: Talk to your child's teacher about what methods he or she employs for discipline and positive reinforcement. Share the methods you use with your child at home. Between the two of you, you can successfully shape your child's behavior so that they will have their best opportunity to learn.
  3. Discuss both academics and non-academic information: Use this time to learn about your child's strengths and weaknesses and what you can do at home to help. Meanwhile, giving the teacher information about your child outside of the school setting helps him or her to know your child as a person and to build a better bond with him or her as well.

Finally, using the SchoolMatters.com rating and review feature is a great way to post your parent-teacher experience and share insights with other parents; moreover, while adding your insights, please consider becoming a parent volunteer so others can email you with specific questions about your local school.

Becoming a parent volunteer is simple. From the "submit a rating or review" page just check the box that says "allow other parents to email me" and voila you are a parent volunteer. Your email address will be kept completely anonymous and you can stop getting emails anytime you choose.


Standard & Poor's
School Evaluation Services
55 Water Street, 44th Floor
New York, New York 10041
susan_shafer@standardand poors.com
If you no longer wish to receive our emails, you may click here to opt out.