Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

This blog is a follow-up to my effective letter recognition strategies series. Here I detail actionable steps you can take when talking to your child’s teacher:

1. Parent-teacher conference
2. Vision & Hearing Screening
3. Universal Reading Difficulties Screener
4. Student Study Team(SST) Meeting

Request a Parent-Teacher Conference

First, request a parent-teacher conference with your child’s teacher. A parent-teacher conference is a great way to discuss your concerns about your child’s lack of progress. If you have time constraints due to your work schedule, request a telephone conference.

Next, download my free parent-teacher conference checklist prior to your conference.

If you have not received a poor work notice, ask your child’s teacher for specifics on how your child is doing during reading instruction. Is your child focused and on-task?

Are there distractions in class that are making it hard for your child to focus?

If so, has the teacher implemented a change in seating? 

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD MY FREE PARENT-TEACHER CONFERENCE CHECKLIST

Providing your child’s teacher with a list of concerns beforehand will allow for a more productive conference. This will allow the teacher to have answers for your questions, assessment reports, and samples of your child’s work. Use my parent-teacher conference checklist to help guide your questions. You can also email the teacher a copy of the checklist to complete prior to the conference.

Take lots of notes during the conference. Does your child recognize the letters in his or her name? How often is your child’s letter knowledge assessed? It can be difficult to remember everything, so write down as many questions as you can prior to the conference. If you assessed your child at home on letters and sounds, be sure to take that information to your conference.

Talk to Your Child’s Teacher About the School Vision and Hearing Screening

Generally, kindergarten students receive a vision and hearing screening at school. If your child does not pass either screening, the school nurse will send home a letter of the failed screening. On occasion, a few of my former first grade students passed the school vision screening, but were still struggling with reading. In these cases, their parents had an outside vision screening with an optometrist and indeed the children were prescribed glasses for reading. We noticed a marked improvement in their ability to read. If you suspect your child may struggle to see letters, I recommend looking into an outside vision exam. Ask your child’s teacher what he or she has observed in class. Is your child squinting or holding worksheets up close?

Talk to Your Child’s Teacher About Universal Screening for Reading Difficulties

Currently 41 states screen kindergarten through second grade students for reading difficulties. Kindergarten students are generally screened mid-year after some instruction has taken place. Ask your child’s teacher about the school district’s policy for screening and reporting reading difficulties. In addition to the universal screener, inquire about what benchmark assessments have been given, and ask to see your child’s results.

Request a Student Study Team (SST) Meeting

Finally, if no improvement has been made, request a student study team meeting. This meeting may have a different name in your child’s school district, but the general idea is the same. A student study team meeting will allow you to address your concerns regarding your child’s lack of academic progress with your child’s teacher, and school administrator. If available, the school reading specialist may also attend the meeting. 

The purpose of the meeting is to set goals for your child and reconvene at a later date to review your child’s progress toward the set goals and determine next steps. At the end of the meeting you will receive a copy of the meeting notes and goals. Be sure to keep this copy for your records. 

Feel free to bring an additional family member to the meeting if you need the support. It can be hard to remember everything that was said in a meeting. Having an additional set of eyes and ears can be a big help. Your family member may hear something that you missed. Sometimes it simply helps to have another family member present to provide emotional support.

To learn more about Student Study Teams (SST) CLICK HERE.

Please email me at banderson@alethajoyedservices.com with any additional questions you may have.

Also Read:

What is a Reading Difficulties Risk Screener?

Help My Child Learn to Read!