Beginning of the School Year Slump

It is a frustrating feeling. Your son or daughter has been giving this new school year their very best effort. They have been doing their homework on time, keeping up with their assignments, and studying hard for those first quizzes and tests. But their grades aren't reflecting their hard work. This is a common situation in a new school year. It often happens when children move and change schools, or are promoted to new levels of schooling such as junior high or high school. But it can also occur just because of a new teacher or new classroom. Change is hard for everyone, but especially for school-age learners who can take up to three months to adjust to educational changes.

Even worse, grades that slip at the beginning of the school year can set a precedent for that child's entire time in that grade level. For that reason, it is very important to make sure they are getting all the help they need to get things back on course. This will only happen if you are involved in your child's school work to an extent that you can keep track of his or her grades, and can communicate well with the teacher. The following are some ideas for steering your child back toward school success:

1. Let the teacher know of your concerns as soon as possible. They might be willing to set up a short conference to discuss ways that you can work together to help your child overcome their beginning-of-the-school-year slump.
2. Allow time each day for your child to discuss with you how things are going at school. They might be reluctant to talk about it, especially if things aren't going very well, so ask insightful questions from time to time such as "What do you like about school the most about this year compared with last year?" or "Do you think this year's teacher has a different style than last years?"
3. Explain to your child that it is normal for work to get a little more difficult with each passing school year, and that a lot of people struggle with their grades until they settle into the new classes and new workload.
4. Evaluate whether or not your child could possibly use some additional remediation such as tutoring or online programs. Many schools offer tutoring, even on a short term basis, and you can check with your child's teacher about the availability of such an option at their school. There are also paid tutoring services, such as Sylvan Learning Center, with certified teachers on staff to work with children after school hours. Or for an even more reasonably priced option, you might want to consider using an online program for remediation, such as Time4Learning, which provides an interactive curriculum that tracks your child's progress, and allows you to customize the level of learning for your child's particular needs.
5. Help your child find their strengths. This is crucial during any point where a child is struggling academically. They need to be reminded that grades aren't everything, and that they have so many other areas that they excel in. This is not the time to pull them out of extracurricular activities they enjoy. Instead, use those activities to play up their strengths so that their self esteem does not suffer as a result of this short term grade slump.

More than likely, your child's recent schoolwork struggles are a passing phase. As the school year levels out, so will their grades. But if not, don't stick your head in the sand and pretend the problem will go away. Ask for help - - from your child's teacher, from a school counselor, or from educational professionals outside the school. Getting to the root of the problem will be the fastest way to help your child overcome it. In the meantime, your job is easy. Just love your child and give them all the support they deserve!