Parent communication with schools can boost the success of students

MANDAN, N.D. (KFYR) - Now that school has been in session for a couple of weeks, kids will start getting homework. For students to succeed in school, they need to be successful at home.

At Mandan Middle School, students are learning, but when they get home, their learning is just as important.

“There’s no greater support or advocate or teacher for a student than parents in their family, in the home. So that line of communication between families in the school is essential to make any of our students as successful as they can be,” said Carly Retterath, Mandan assistant superintendent.

She says parents should tell teachers the best way to communicate with them, whether it’s by email, on the phone or face-to-face.

“The more involved they are, the better that their student usually does. And we just see that success because they have that support at home. The parents model that responsibility and the child is able to see that responsibility and able to model it for themselves,” said Delona Mitchell, a sixth-grade teacher.

Parents can check in with their kids each day to monitor their work to make sure they’re on track. At Mandan Middle School, parents see all their children’s assignments on Canvas and can check their grades on Power School.

But it’s important to check their child’s homework as well.

“When a student brings home homework, and they have it all done and then they come back and they’re not sure what to do, that doesn’t help them because it’s a big discrepancy, because as the teachers looking at it, it looks like they know what they’re doing,” said Mitchell.

They both say the biggest help is making sure that teachers and parents are on the same page.

Another app the Mandan School District uses to keep parents up to date is Remind, a communication platform. Parents should make sure their email and phone numbers are up to date with the school.