Parental relationships go a long way toward fostering academic success, but not nearly as much as when parents communicate educational expectations and prioritize academics themselves (see Part 1). Including school work in the schedule and providing study spaces for your kids can go a long way toward communicating your support and the priority you place on hard work and education, in general.
At the same time, though, there is no replacement for the kind of help and support you can offer by your presence and direct involvement in your child’s education.
Daily Support for High Achievers
How much help and support does your child need? How much should you offer? Those are difficult questions and will depend largely on your child’s school, academic aptitudes, and personality. Even the most self-motivated, independent learner can benefit from having someone quiz her before an upcoming test or quiz, and simply asking about what she is learning — even possibly teaching you something you don’t understand or had forgotten — can help your child cement the concepts for herself.
When your child is enthusiastic about something that does not genuinely interest you, it’s still important to listen as an extension of your love and support for your child. Of course, asking about the outcome of a specific project or test communicates support, as well. For high achievers who can become frustrated about a single percentage point, parents can use the opportunity to curb perfectionist tendencies and encourage a productive focus instead of focusing on resentments.
Daily Support for Low Achievers
When you look over your child’s homework and see errors, it’s important not to simply tell him the answer or communicate frustration. Instead, you can begin by pointing out correct answers or well-written areas and asking your child how he arrived at them, then try pointing out the mistake and asking if your child realizes what he should have done, instead. Perhaps he is simply rushing in order to have time to call a friend before bedtime or is distracted by events of the day.
If your child is consistently struggling, the material may be above his or her ability, or the classroom communication may be missing the mark. By providing your child with study support, you’ll know when intervention may be needed sooner, rather than later, eliminating the potential for shock over a poor report card.
Parental Support at School
While daily support cannot be overemphasized, the occasional parental presence in the classroom and involvement in school activities and events goes a long way toward encouraging student success. Or maybe it’s simply the fact that the kinds of parents who tend to get involved are the ones already demonstrating the fact that education is important and doing all they can to encourage academic success at home.
Whatever the relationship, the correlation between parental school involvement and academic success of children is pretty clear, so next time a teacher asks for a parent volunteer, realize that you’re not just helping the teacher, you’re helping your child, too.
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Walk the halls of any high school, and the classic stereotypes will come alive before your eyes. The Preps, jocks, nerds, bad kids etc. Most people are able to pick them out and know behavioral patterns. Perhaps the most overlooked teens are actually the ones in the spotlight. This teen is on the honor roll, takes AP classes, plays a sport and has a hand in school organizations. They may even hold a job outside of school. This kid does not appear to have any overt issues. This is the all-American teenager, living it up in high school before getting the amazing scholarship to the perfect college. But what is the price tag which accompanies that amazing scholarship? What will that perfect college acceptance letter really cost them? 
As a classroom teacher in both private and public schools in a variety of socioeconomic settings, I noticed six characteristics commonly found among students who routinely succeeded:
Providing your teen with a space conducive to study and the time to complete class work is important, too. A growing number of today’s teens are too busy with part-time jobs, extracurricular activities, and family responsibilities to have time to get enough sleep, as it is. Add homework to the list, and you have a sleep-deprived teen who’s unlikely to be able to concentrate during tomorrow’s lectures.
You may not think that your teen wants your input, and maybe he really doesn’t. But he needs it. If a chain-link fence of Os on a quarterly grade sheet shocks you, then you need to act. You can respond by routinely e-mailing teachers to ask about upcoming assignments and check up on your teen’s progress. If that isn’t enough, you can require your teen to gather teacher signatures next to assignments or upcoming assessments, allowing you to know for sure if it’s true that he was given no homework over the long weekend.