My child is struggling 
Now that my child has 
Great Expectations for Effective Meetings
NCLD has created a simple, easy-to-use "Great Expectations" worksheet that can facilitate communication and clarify the opinions of each person who will participate in a discussion or meeting. Designed primarily for parents, it can be used by anyone (e.g., educators, psychologists, speech-language pathologists, school administrators), and to be most effective, should be filled in completely by each person from their perspective. For example, a parent would insert information about what they perceive to be the needs, expectations, fears, etc., of each other person listed. Be honest and try to be as specific as possible. Having examples and a rationale to support your answers can also be very helpful. And be sure to include students in this discovery process! Their assumptions and expectations could be among the most critical and fruitful pieces of information brought to the table.
Other Resources
- Making Parent Partners
When parents play a part in their child's academic career, students have better school attendance, make greater achievement gains, and have fewer behavior problems. This 90-minute program features experts Karen L. Mapp, Susan Hall, and Tom Bowmann, discussing what your school can do to make parents partners in the process of teaching children to read. - The Parental Involvement Checklist
One way to start improving your school's parent-school partnerships is by assessing present practices. Information and resources provided on the Project Appleseed Web site can help you evaluate how well your school is reaching out to parents.
Sheldon H. Horowitz, Ed.D. is the Director of LD Resources & Essential Information at the National Center for Learning Disabilities.
