HIGH SCHOOL
Get Your Child Ready for Work and for Life
Serve as your child’s best coach and mentor.
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Foster your child’s independence, and continue to be aware of and support your child’s studies and afterschool activities.
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Continue to stay involved with the school as your child progresses through high school.
Know what your high school child needs to succeed.
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Look for programs designed to help students succeed in college and in a career–those that teach study skills, provide tutoring to enhance skills and knowledge and help students choose the right courses to succeed.
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Provide structure. Show your child how to manage time for studies, activities, friends and family.
Partner with teachers and counselors.
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Get to know your child’s teachers and counselors.
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Continue to attend open houses or parent nights at school to meet your child’s teachers.
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Request parent-teacher conferences when you think they are needed.
Communicate with teachers.
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Find out the best time to contact them by telephone.
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Ask for teachers’ e-mail addresses so you may contact them outside of school hours, as teachers are usually not available during school hours.
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Find out about Web sites where teachers may list class notes and homework assignments.
Know that counselors:
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Handle class registration and schedules;
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Can help if there are problems at home, such as divorce or illness, which could affect your child’s school work;
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Have checklists of how to apply to college and where to get college financial aid; and
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Can tell you when college entrance exams are given, especially the SAT and the American College Test (ACT).
Consider safety.
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Pay attention to your child’s behavior and friends.
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Tell your child to leave valuables at home and to keep belongings locked up, as theft is the most common school crime.
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Be aware if your child’s grades drop or if your child is sad or angry.
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Talk to your child about any concerns you may have.
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Consult with counselors, social workers, school psychologists or others trained in and helpful with solving adolescents’ problems.
Stay involved with the school.
Be informed through your school’s parent-teacher organization and the school newsletter or Web site. Continue to be an advocate for your child and other students in the process.
Tips on paying for college
Loans, grants and work-study aid are available for lowincome students through the Federal Student Aid program. The maximum Pell Grant award for the 2010–11 award year is $5,550.
When your child turns 18
Be aware that when your child turns 18 years old or enters a college or university at any age, the rights under the Family
Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) transfer from you to your child. You may become informed about this law at http:// www.ed.gov/policy/gen/guid/fpco/ferpa/index.html.
