Parents, family members and caregivers play a critical role in helping a student successfully aspire to, access and succeed in college.  Below are just a few tips on how parents can be an enormous help in keeping their student, no matter what age, on the pathway to school success and post-secondary education.  Excellent web resources for more information are also listed.

For high school students

• Attend orientation and parent/teacher conference nights with your student.
• Follow your student’s academic work on Progress Book by checking on grades and any missed assignments.
• Encourage your student to take the most rigorous classes possible and a full course load for all four years.
• Make sure your junior signs up for A Call to College and encourage him/her to take advantages of all the possible resources like advising, ACT test preparation, college fair trips, campus visits and evening workshops.
• Talk with your student about whether taking classes at C-TEC might be a good option once the sophomore year ends.
• Stay posted on high school happenings by spending time each day talking with your student, by visiting the Newark City School website, and by attending school events.
• Monitor your student’s attendance and make sure that they have a way to get to school each day on time.
• Sleep is critical for effective functioning in school.  Make sure your student gets eight hours a sleep each night. 
• Remind your student that a 2.5 grade point average is required to be eligible for a Last-Dollar Grants from A Call to College.

For middle school students                                                        

• Get to know all the teachers who are instructing your student, especially in those subject areas that are especially interesting and/or challenging for him/her.
• Establish a user name and password for Progress Book so you can check grades and any missing assignments.
• Attend parent-teacher conferences.  Behavior and attitudes are not easily communicated on a grade card.
• Begin conversations with your student about possible career interests.  Explore the web site, Ohio College Information System together at www.ocis.org. You may log on with the user name, newarkhs and the password, ohiocis03
• Encourage and support your student’s interest in participating in school and non-school activities like music, sports, clubs, church activities, summer leagues, etc.
• Help your student adjust to the higher expectations and increased independence of middle school by providing her/him more responsibilities at home.
• Make it your business to know your student’s business – who, what, where and for how long!
• If your student wants to excel academically, seek out opportunities for extra tutoring and enrichment programs that might be of interest
• Make sure your student has a comfortable, distraction-free area to do their school work at home
• Place the computer in a visible place in the house and monitor its use.  Don’t allow late night access to social networking sites like Facebook or even texting on the phone.  Students have difficulty focusing on schoolwork when they are distracted by an upsetting message they received the night before.
• Get to know your student’s friends and their parents by volunteering or attending school events.  Good students can become even more engaged in school if they have a constructive, positive, learning-oriented network of friends.
• Investigate whether you can increase your contributions to your student’s college fund or begin one – it is never too late!  Start talking with your student about finances and the importance of budgeting.

For pre-school and elementary students

• Attend open houses and parent-teacher conferences at your child’s school.  Get to know the classroom teacher and building principal. Ask for their school email addresses.
• Make it a habit to read with your child at least twenty minutes a day. Reading at home helps your child develop the skills necessary to become a successful reader, increases their chances for school success and also builds positive parent-child bonds at the same time.  If there is an older sibling at home, have the children read together – both will benefit! 
• Get involved with the Reading Foundation of Licking County by attending one of their meetings held on the third Thursday of each month at The Works in downtown Newark.
•  Visit this website for more information on the importance of reading:  www.readingfoundation.org
  
• Make sure your child has a valid Licking County Library card and take your child to the library frequently.  Encourage them to check out books, rather than videos.  Participate in the many special story hours and events that the library hosts free of charge.
• Teach your pre-school child nursery rhymes and children’s songs. Being exposed to different vocabulary words early on and regularly aids reading comprehension.
• Insert vocabulary and word recognition games into your daily routine with your child – at the grocery store, in the car, waiting for the school bus, anytime!
• Start a college fund by saving as much as you can each month. Assuming a 7% return, saving just $15 a month from birth would grow to about $6,500 by the time your child turns eighteen. Good websites about saving for college are: www.finaid.org/savings and www.collegesavings.org.  You might want to consider starting a 529 College Savings Plan.  To learn more about this type of savings vehicle click on the following link: CollegeAdvantage, a 529 Savings Plan for Ohio.