By NANCY POSTER
For Smart

The beginning of a new school year means much more than settling into a new routine and buying lunchboxes, pencils and folders.

For the teacher, it involves getting to know the needs of anxious students and their parents. And for the student, it means learning a teacher's expectations.

But if educators could set expectations for their students' parents, what would that list look like?

Christine Blevins, principal of Baresville Elementary School in South Western School District, offered a few suggestions.

Read with the child every day

"Nothing can replace cuddling up with your parents with a book."

Encourage regular attendance
Students need to be in school on a daily basis. Even though class work can be sent home, it's important to hear lessons and background information from the teacher and "make connections with new learning," Blevins said. Regular attendance also builds work ethic and commitment, she said.

Develop good study habits

Parents should set time aside each day for their child to do homework or some kind of enrichment if no homework was assigned. They might also scan the headlines in a newspaper or magazine.

Allow time for play

Blevins suggests parents also remember it's important their child spend quality time outside with friends. While the amount of time varies, Blevins said about 45 minutes should give children the break they need.

Communicate with the child

Add to the child's background of experiences by taking him on errands, like a trip to the dry cleaners or post office. "Talk a lot to them," she said. "They won't always respond. But what they're absorbing might help them make connections later on."

Talk with faculty

"Parents always must be in communication with the school," Blevins said. "If anything troubling is going on in the household, we need to know that even before the student sets foot in the door." Call the child's teacher, guidance counselor or principal with concerns.

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Parents also have expectations of their children's teachers.
Structure is OK
Stacey DeLong, whose son is a third-grader at Baresville Elementary School in the South Western School District, said she appreciates a teacher who is structured "and also willing to continue to remind the children that they need to do what is expected of them."

Encourage parent-volunteers

DeLong said she loves to volunteer at her son's school. So, she appreciates it when a teacher welcomes volunteers into the classroom. "I know the kids, even in third grade, enjoy seeing a familiar face now and then," she said.

Communicate with parents

"That is very, very important to me," DeLong said.

She maintained e-mail contact with her son's teacher last year, and the teacher even offered her home telephone number. Fellow South Western School District parent Becky Brown said, "If there's a problem, let's get to it in the beginning," she said.

Educators should love their jobs

Brown, the parent of an elementary and an intermediate school student, said she believes teaching "has to be your heart's desire."

"You have to want to see these kids succeed," she said.

See that funding is available

"I expect the school district to have the funding to provide the kids what they deserve," Brown said. "These are our future leaders."