By Kris Olson, Colina Teacher
	When Report Cards or Progress Reports go home, many of Colina families will be celebrating the success their children are having here at Colina, but for a few, there may be a need to look for areas of improvement. Here are some suggestions to help in this area. 1. Each trimester the students begin fresh. Grades are not cumulative from one trimester to the next. If your student got off to a slow start, but he/she is now performing at an appropriate level, then next trimester’s grades should take care of themselves. Encourage your student to continue doing the work he/she is doing now. 2. The most common reason for students to be doing poorly is due to assignments not being turned in or nor following directions. Discuss with your student the need to turn in all assignments on time and complete. 3. Be sure that homework is a part of the students daily routine. Set aside a special time and place to do the work. If the student doesn’t have enough homework to fill the homework time, have him/her read a book or go back over the work previously done in class. We know that in today’s hectic world this isn’t always a possibility but many studies show that this approach works well with most students. 4. Arrange for a parent / teacher / student conference. This is always a positive, if nerve racking event for the student, but it is best if we all communicate together. If you are interested in a conference, please call the school counseling office and they will arrange it for us. 5. Consider working with an outside tutor. Some students, for many different reasons, have a deficit somewhere in their knowledge base. It isn’t always possible for teachers at the middle school level to diagnose and remedy these problems. The counseling office has a list of qualified tutors. 6. Stress the importance of education. Many students don’t seem to have the school/career/future achievement link down yet. Take the time to talk to your child about your feelings about education. Discuss with them their future goals and how their education is critical to achieving those goals. 7. Check to make sure students are using their assignment notebooks. Time is provided in each class to write the daily assignments into the notebook. Use the homework hotline to verify the accuracy. 8. When a student is absent, use the homework hotline and his/her study buddy to get the information for that day’s work. Remember that work needs to be turned in within the number of days a student is absent. 9. Celebrate your student's successes. Find opportunities to praise your student for a job well done. These are great kids. We enjoy being with them daily. Each is unique and special in his/her own way. Commend them for that A on their problem solving test or for completing an outstanding essay.