Talk to your child's teacher!

School started today here in Prince Edward Island and you likely received a school calendar in your child’s backpack inviting you to “meet the staff” night some time later this month, and it may have mentioned “parent-teacher interviews” in the fourth week of October.

These are both great opportunities to engage with you child’s educators.

But you don’t have to wait until then!

Every teacher has an email address (you might find it on a card in amongst the papers you received home today) that you can reach them at; my experience, which might be unnaturally positive, is that teachers will often respond back within an hour or two, especially if it’s an urgent issue.

And every teacher should welcome you into the classroom before or after school if there’s something you want to talk about (ask the teacher for their individual policy on this, as it’s up to them to indicate when the best time for this).

You can also send notes to school with your child and ask for a reply.

Remember, in all communication with your child’s teacher, that educators live complicated and busy lives and we have a responsibility as parents to respect their time. 

But we also have a right to clear and open communication with our child’s teachers, and now is the time to be setting good habits and expectations.

Good home-and-school communication is, in my experience, vital to a positive school experience; it’s an “early warning system” in both directions for issues that otherwise might fester.