Remember that although in a perfect world the custodial parent would keep you on top of what’s happening in the child’s life, sometimes that doesnt happen. Here are some ways to advocate for yourself.

• At the beginning of the school year, Write a letter to the school clearing up any questions about custody and rights as well as requesting exactly what you would like.
• Also at the beginning of the school year, call your child’s teacher and introduce yourself. make them aware of the letter you sent to the school and of the contents.
• Once a month, call your one of your child’s teachers and find out how your child is doing. Often it’s the custodial parent that gets the notes home and other more frequent reports of how the child is doing.
• Even better, exchange regular emails with the teacher and ask to be ccd on any emails to the other parent.
• Request to be invited to parent-teacher conferences via conference call.
• Request to receive report cards and progress reports from the school just as they are sent to the custodial parent.
• Talk to your child when you get information from the school that warrants a discussion… don’t expect the custodial parent to do it.
• Communicate (in writing) with the custodial parents about concerns. A good long distance parent is one that supports the custodial parent as much as possible in the successful schooling of the child.