The school year is well underway. You've emailed your child's teachers and attended back-to-school night. That was a great start toward involvement. But, it's just a start. To keep it going:

• Join your school's parent-teacher organization. If you can find time to attend even one meeting, you are almost guaranteed to learn something you didn't know about your child's school.
• Meet an administrator. There may be thousands of parents of students at your child's school. Administrators do not know all of them (or even most of them) by name. But if you introduce yourself, you will have a reference point to give the administrator should you ever need to work together directly.
• Get to know the guidance counselor. Guidance counselors in middle school are crucial members of the team. They work hard to get to know the students they are responsible for. They are wonderful resources for the times when you need help with issues that are not purely academic.

Reprinted with permission from the October 2009 issue of Parents Still make the difference!® (Middle School Edition) newsletter. Copyright © 2009 The Parent Institute®, a division of NIS, Inc.