Parent Talk!: The Art of Effective Communication with the School and Your Child

A must-have book for all parents!

Parent Talk! provides practical advice to help parents communicate with their child and their child's school, featuring an easy, fast-moving format with sample role-playing situations, parent-to-parent tips, sample letters, and checklists to help you stay on track. Authors Cheli Cerra and Ruth Jacoby identify 52 common school situations and offer expert guidance based on their experiences as parents and school principals.

Do you want to:

• Be comfortable when speaking with your child's teacher?
• Know exactly what to do if your child is failing?
• Know exactly what to say at parent conferences?
• Learn how to deal with a variety of school issues?

If you answered yes, then Parent Talk! is the book you need. Never be at a loss for words again with the teacher, the school administrator, or your child!

"Cheli Cerra and Ruth Jacoby have written what is arguably the most comprehensive guide for parents in education today. Conscientious parents across the board will benefit from their wise perspective, gained from a combined fifty-plus years on the front line in education. Parent Talk! helps put parents back into the schools with confidence!"

—Carolina Fernandez Author of ROCKET MOM!: 7 Strategies to Blast You into Brilliance

A handy book for parents of school age children on how to deal with specific issues that can come up in their child's education.

CHELI CERRA, M.Ed., is a school principal, former teacher, and mother of two. Under her leadership, her schools received an A+ rating from the Florida Department of Education. Cerra has been featured on over thirty radio shows around the country as well as in Woman's Day magazine.

RUTH JACOBY, Ed.D., is the founding principal of the Somerset Academy charter schools for grades pre-K–11, which also received an A+ rating. She has more than thirty years' experience as an administrator and educator in traditional public, private, and charter schools.

How to Use This Book.

Introduction.

Section 1: Summer.

Snapshot 1: My Child Has the Back-to-School Blues.

Snapshot 2: I Am Recently Divorced and Have Sole Custody of My Child.

Snapshot 3: My Child Does Not Speak English.

Snapshot 4: My Child’s Friend Is a Bad Influence.

Snapshot 5: My Child Is Gifted and I Want Her Placed in the Gifted Program.

Snapshot 6: My Child Is Failing at a High-Performing School.

Snapshot 7: My Child’s Health Needs to Be Monitored and He Must Take Medication Daily.

Snapshot 8: My Child Has Diabetes.

Snapshot 9: I Just Moved to a New Community: How Do I Find a School for My Child?

Snapshot 10: My Child Does Not Want to Wear the School Uniform.

P.S. Practice What to Say When They Say . . ..

Section 2: Fall.

Snapshot 11: I Can’t Attend Open House.

Snapshot 12: My Child’s School Has Mildew.

Snapshot 13: The School Is Always Doing Fundraisers.

Snapshot 14: My Child Came Home Without Eating Lunch.

Snapshot 15: Why Should I Have to Volunteer in Another Classroom?

Snapshot 16: My Child Does Not Have Textbooks.

Snapshot 17: The School Bus Is Failing to Pick Up My Child.

Snapshot 18: I Must Drop Off My Child Very Early at School.

Snapshot 19: My Child’s Books Are Too Heavy for Her to Carry.

Snapshot 20: I Am Worried My Child Is Failing.

Snapshot 21: The School’s Pickup and Drop-Off Procedure Is Disorganized.

Snapshot 22: My Child Is Not Getting Enough Homework.

Snapshot 23: The Teacher Can’t Write Correctly.

Snapshot 24: My Child Is Fifteen Minutes Late to Class Daily.

Snapshot 25: My Child’s Homework Takes Up Too Much Time.

Snapshot 26: The School Newspaper Has Grammatical Errors.

Snapshot 27: The School Cafeteria Never Has Any Variety.

P.S. Practice What to Say When They Say . . ..

Section 3: Winter.

Snapshot 28: My Child Does Not Enjoy Reading.

Snapshot 29: My Child’s Behavior Has Changed Since He Left Elementary School.

Snapshot 30: My Child Gets Sick Every Day at the Same Time.

Snapshot 31: My Child’s Classmate Threatened to Bring a Gun to School.

Snapshot 32: I Never Know What Is Happening at the School.

Snapshot 33: My Child Wrote on a Wall After Being Influenced by His Peers.

Snapshot 34: The Teacher Is Picking on My Child.

Snapshot 35: A Disruptive Classmate Is Hitting My Child.

Snapshot 36: My Child Is Being Suspended for Fighting, While the Child Who Started the Fight Is Not.

Snapshot 37: My Daughter Is Being Sexually Harassed by Another Student.

Snapshot 38: My Child Is Always Getting into Trouble; I Feel the Staff at School Is Picking on Him.

Snapshot 39: My Child Told Me There Are Drugs in His School.

Snapshot 40: My Child Got Three F’s on His Report Card.

Snapshot 41: I Don’t Understand the Results from My Child’s Standardized Test.

Snapshot 42: The Teacher Gives Too Many Projects.

P.S. Practice What to Say When They Say . . ..

Section 4: Spring.

Snapshot 43: My Child Has Food Allergies and Could Not Participate in the Multicultural Food Festival.

Snapshot 44: My Child Was Shown an Inappropriate Movie in School.

Snapshot 45: The Teacher Was Not Fair in Grading My Child’s Project.

Snapshot 46: My Child Is Being Retained.

Snapshot 47: My Child Broke His Leg and the School Never Called Me.

Snapshot 48: The School Is Always Asking for Money.

Snapshot 49: I Am Concerned About Adult Supervision at the End-of-the-Year Dance.

Snapshot 50: The Summer Break Is Too Long and My Child Will Forget All She Has Learned.

Snapshot 51: The School Wants My Child to Keep a Summer Journal.

Snapshot 52: My Child Has Come Down With “Summeritis”.

P.S. Practice What to Say When They Say . . ..

Epilogue.

Share Your Snapshots.

Appendix A: From One Parent to Another: Worksheets for Your Child’s School Success.

Appendix B: Bringing the Art of Communication to You: Workshops and Coaching Programs.

About the Authors.