The 2015-2016 school year is upon us and how our kids start can have a huge impact on how they finish the school year, and their high school careers.
If your child is in high school make sure you review his/her schedule with a laser precision. Review it like it is your bank account, because ultimately it may impact how much you pay for your child's college tuition due to the presence or absence of scholarships and financial aid.
Start by gathering your child's graduation plan, transcript, and the current schedule. All of these are available from your school counselor. If your child received credit for a class on the transcript, check it off of the graduation plan. Make sure that your child's current schedule only includes classes he or she has
NOT gotten credit for. We don't want our kidsrepeating classes they've already gotten credit for or taking classes that are not on their graduation plans.
Once you've done that, pay attention to the level and types of the classes on your child's schedule: Is your child in a specialty or magnet program and are those classes present? Does you child need an Advanced Placement (AP) or pre-AP classes? If you aren't quite sure, ask the school counselor. Pre-AP, AP, and dual credit classes can boost your child's GPA and rank so this is important.
If your child is in middle school and earning high school credit, the same tips apply. You may want to request some high school credit courses if you believe your son or daughter is mature enough to handle them, because once a grade goes on the transcript, it never comes off.
Finally, attend Open-House to meet your child's counselor and teachers to establish positive relationships before you ever need to call them about a problem.
That's enough to get started with. I wish you and your children the best!
