Three Basic Strategies and Can't-Miss Ideas to Reel Parents In

By Alex Kajitani

No matter what grade level or subject we teach, when calling the parents of our at-promise students we’ve all had the exact same experience, many times over. It goes something like this:

Ring, ring…
Ring, ring…
Ring, ring…
Ring, ring…
Ring, ring…
(hang up phone)

If we are lucky enough to catch a parent, we’re often greeted by a less-than-enthusiastic person who seems uninterested in improving their child’s behavior or academic performance. Convincing them to come onto our campus to meet with teachers is harder than the gum under our students’ desks.

Car Care

By Coleen Armstrong

By mid-September I still hadn’t had time to do anything about my bare bulletin boards. Too much early fall paperwork. But the empty wall was beginning to get on everyone’s nerves.

So my senior auto mechanics class asked one day if they could tack up pictures of their cars. I shrugged. It sounded a little bizarre, but I figured it was better than nothing.

Within a week the board was covered with snapshots of vehicles. Trucks, jeeps, cars and mini vans, all different. The only thing they had in common was that each was in remarkably good shape. No clunkers.

Still, I stared at the display each day after school and shook my head. Why would anyone want to take a picture of a used car? Why would anyone want to show it off?

Student Educational Progress Shows Modest Gains

National Center for Educational Statistics

Enrollment in America's elementary and secondary schools continues to rise to all-time highs, and our younger learners continue to show gains in educational achievement over time. The overall achievement levels of secondary school students have not risen over time, but we do see some increases in the percentage of students entering college after high school and earning a postsecondary credential, according to The Condition of Education 2009 report released today by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).