Once a month, call your one of your child’s teachers and find out how your child is doing.

The start of the school year is upon us! Did you know that it is federal law (The Family Educational Rights and Privacy act) that, unless a court specifically prohibits it, the school HAS to release information about the student to both parents? Both parents are entitled to report cards, progress reports, field trip information, parent teacher conferences etc.

At the beginning of the school year, you should send a letter to the school introducing yourself and giving them any updated contact information. To encourage schools who might not have experience with including distance parents, specifically request the type of involvement you want. Along with your letter, you should include several SASEs so that the school does not have to consider the cost in keeping you involved. You should also include the first page of your custody agreement where the custody of the child is explained in brief.

Just before the school year starts, call the school and get your child’s teacher’s name and the best way to contact them. If your child is in the early grades or there is any other reason to be concerned about how your child will do in the class, contact the teacher and introduce yourself and request a start-of-the-year conference to go over how the class works and what will be required of your child. During this conference, relay any concerns you have.

The following is the letter I used.