Guidance |
Parents
It is your right to be involved in your student’s
school success and we highly encourage it!
Report cards and progress reports:
Spaulding staff issue eight grade reports each year. Report cards
are issued quarterly. The first three are distributed to your
student in school; the final is mailed home in June. (Generally,
you can expect a report card within two weeks after the quarter
closes.) In addition, teachers directly issue a mid-quarter progress
report. These are given directly to the student, with directions
for the student to take them home and share the information with
you. Some teachers even give an extra credit grade for progress
reports that are signed by you and returned to the teacher in
a timely fashion. Since our students are less than four years
from adulthood, we expect that they will be responsible and communicate
with their parents as to what is going on in school. However,
if this breaks down, we invite you to call or email teachers or
call the office to get another copy of a report card.
What to do if your student is not doing well:
Inspect the comment codes on the report card.
Generally, the source of the problem is apparent in comments such
as:
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Did not take final exam
-
Disruptive in class
-
Frequently tardy to class
-
Ineffective use of class time
-
Missing/incomplete assignments
-
Administrative Failure
-
Quality of work varies
-
Unprepared for class
For the most part, these comments signify behavior that is purely
within the students’ control. We appreciate any assistance
you can give us in attempting to motivate your student to working
harder on these behaviors. Sometimes parents find it helpful to
set up reward, privileges, and punishment systems at home. Even
though adolescents may insist that they do not need or want your
involvement, obviously the above comments scream out that you
are needed.
Another report card comment that may or may not be within your
students’ control is:
In most cases, low test and quiz scores are linked with one of
the above factors. For instance, frequent tardiness, excessive
absenteeism, and disruptive in class equate to missing important
instruction and class discussion.
In the event that a student is in need of academic support or
some lessons in study skills, Spaulding offers assistance such
as:
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Appointments before or after school with the
teacher of that subject
(HINT: Often students try to find a teacher for help and are
unable to. Please emphasize with them that teachers often travel
to different rooms, have meetings after school, or may go to
the office or teachers’ room to prepare for the next day.
In order to avoid this discouragement, the student should clarify
not only when they can meet, but where.)
-
Peer tutoring through the various honor societies
-
Academic learning lab support
Academic Learning Labs
Every major academic department (English, Mathematics, Science,
Social Studies, and Technology) have designated learning labs
to assist students. These labs are staffed by teachers who are
knowledgeable about the curriculum in their department. Students
may access the labs for leaning help, to make up missed work
or tests, or for tutoring. In addition, if several students
in a particular class need assistance, the lab teachers may
actually assist within the classroom. To prevent students from
getting further behind and missing important new lessons, students
should access labs during non-instructional times.
Parent-Teacher Communication
In the event that you feel that you would like additional communication
with your student’s teachers, principals, or guidance counselor.
There are several effective means of communication...telephone,
additional student requested progress reports, and face-to-face
meetings. At this point in the electronic age, email seems to
work best. You can email teachers as often as you would like,
and they will tend to respond to you more quickly than by telephone
or meeting. This results in faster and more frequent communication.
To email your student’s teachers, principals, nurse, or
counselor, use the following formula:
Lastname.firstinitial@rochesterschools.com
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