Communication between parents and teachers is an important part of the experience at Strelitz International Academy. Parents are always encouraged to contact their child’s teacher with questions or concerns that arise during the school year. SIA’s goal is to bring out the best in each student and a critical part of that process is parents and teachers working together.
At the beginning of the year, parents and students are usually invited to meet their child’s teacher at a Back to School Meet and Greet. This year, with COVID protocols in place, each teacher held a virtual meeting to meet students and parents excited about the new school year. A few weeks later in September, parents were invited to meet with the teacher to learn more about the curriculum for their child’s grade, classroom expectations, and how they could support their children in their new grade level.
During the school year, which is divided into trimesters, parents receive a very detailed report card carefully explaining their child’s strengths and areas for growth. Each teacher is very thorough in their narrative assessments giving parents an accurate picture of their child’s academic, social, and emotional progress. Parent and teacher conferences are offered in the fall and student led conferences are planned in the spring. Parents are always invited to contact their child’s teacher if an issue or concern arises at another time.
Now, with most of the SIA teacher community vaccinated, SIA was thrilled to hold in-person conferences outside this spring, on school grounds, with distancing and masking protocols followed. As an IB Candidate School, this is an important part of the learning and evaluation process. During the conference, students shared their IB Portfolio with their parents. The portfolio includes special projects and student reflections to document each student’s growth as a learner. In addition to report cards and parent conferences, regular teacher-parent communication is an essential part of student growth. SIA uses a communication platform called www.parentsquare.com, which allows teacher-to-parent, parent-to-teacher and school-wide messages to be sent. Parents can program the messenger system to be delievered to their email, phone, or both to ensure they are alerted to all important school messages.
From infant care to SIA’s outstanding academic program, parents can feel secure knowing that their children are in the best learning environment as they grow and develop into confident and high achieving students ready to take on the world.
Carin Simon is admission director for Strelitz International Academy. She may be reached at csimon@strelitzacademy.org.
- Carin Simon