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Schools

Get the Most From Back to School Night

The principal and teachers from Einstein High School share five tips on how to make the most of Back to School Night.

Summer vacation is as gone as a has-been pop star, and the new academic year is underway. That means Back to School Night is around the corner, which gives parents the chance to meet teachers, see school facilities and find out what their child is expected to learn during the year.

Even though it's plenty tempting to ask, parents should remember that the purpose of Back to School Night, while informational, has a different objective than answering questions about little Johnny's progress in school. 

Back to School Nights usually run about two hours, and with such an abbreviated time for groups of parents to spend with each teacher, it is nearly impossible for each parent to have a mini parent teacher conference for each child.

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However, there are at least five valuable things that parents can take away from the event. The principal and a few teachers at Albert Einstein High School shared tips with Kensington Patch to help parents make the most of Back to School Night. These suggestions can also be applicable to parents of middle and elementary schoolchildren.

Five Things to Take Away From Back to School Night:

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1. An idea of what happens in your child's classroom and at school

That includes a description of the class and what your child is expected to learn.

"We ask each teacher to give a one-page handout front and back, not much more," said Principal James Fernandez, whose nearly 40-year career in education includes five years at Einstein.

Teachers also distribute information to parents that will tell more about the school as well as well as the academic rigor they can expect from an education in Montgomery County Public Schools. 

"We give our Spanish-speaking parents a DVD that we've done on our own all about Einstein High School," Fernandez said. "We're doing DVDs on SATs and on the HSAs [High School Assessment] in Spanish. We have them in English also."

2. Teacher contact information

Contact information, including an e-mail address, is usually included on the handouts that teachers will distribute to parents. If parents have more than one child and are unable to visit each teacher, they should be sure to visit the school website to see if teacher e-mail addresses are available there. But parents should also leave their contact information with teachers as well.

Math teacher Ryan Oben suggested that what parents "might want to do is go with an index card with their own personal contact information," which includes the best ways to reach them.

"Sometimes when we ask students for a number or an e-mail address, we're not getting the best way to get a hold of their parents," Oben said. 

3. Appointment availability

Find out if the teacher has any planning periods where he or she may talk about student progress, or what their availability is after school. Remember that discussing progress doesn't have to be in a face-to-face meeting. E-mail is an option for busy parents to keep track of a child's progress, and Einstein parents should receive a quick reply.

"Most of my teachers respond within a 24-hour period," said Fotini Economides, a 37-year education veteran and head of the Einstein social studies department.

"And the only time that might not happen is Friday," math teacher Ryan Oben said. But in those cases, a Monday response can be expected.

"In general, teachers seem to do a good job of responding quickly," he said.

4. Class requirements and grading policies 

Learn expectations for turning in homework, due dates and what Principal Fernandez referred to as "drop dead" due dates — when the assignment can no longer be submitted for credit. Parents of freshmen and sophomores, not only of juniors and seniors, should ask questions about graduation requirements. It's never too early.

"They should make sure they understand if a child has to pass this class to graduate. They should make sure they understand if this class is an HSA class, a High School Assessment class," Fernandez said. "They should ask, if it's an Advanced Placement class, 'How does my child get credit for this class?' Because they do. We have kids that leave here that'll be sophomores when they get to college, they take so many AP and IB [International Baccalaureate] classes."

Tricia Gooley, a dance teacher who has spent five of her nine teaching years at Einstein, says she will let parents know what performances are important for their child's grade. She also shares clothing requirements for her dance students.

"I'm pretty specific about what they are to wear and not wear and a lot of times parents need reasons why," Gooley said, adding that safety is the most important reason for her requirements.

Ceramics teacher Tom Ellwanger said, jokingly, that he likes to dim parent expectations.

"I tell them what's not going to happen," the 38-year teaching vet said.

"They're not going to have a set of China for Christmas. A pot, maybe," he laughed. "Seriously, it's a communication thing, the beginning of a dialog between us and our clients."

5. Resources available through the school and the county (especially the free ones!)

One online resource all Einstein parents have access to is Edline. Parents get a password and are able to keep up with their child's attendance, grades and assignments, if the teacher also uses Edline.

Gooley said she wants to make sure her parents are "learning as much as they can about the different resources that are here at Einstein, available to them as parents, but also available to their children."

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