School Smarts: Teachers advice for parents

Second grade teacher Heidi Murray is getting her classroom ready for the school year. She says setting a "tone" for learning is important and encourages parents to do the same at home.
 
Heidi Murray, 2nd grade teacher
I think right off the bat you need a positive attitude, you need to get reared up, back to school, make it exciting, make sure consistency, routine, really set the bed time when you're going to wake up, good breakfast.
 
Teachers also stress how important it is for parents to attend their kid's "back to school" night.
 
Heidi Murray, 2nd grade teacher
It's important because the teacher goes over the curriculum, expectations for the school year, how to communicate with each other.
 
Bedford High School teacher Chris Zellner says parents need to set goals for their kids and be very specific on what type of performance they want to see.
 
Chris Zellner, 10th grade teacher
I would say as a parent you need to communicate to your student, to your son or daughter, what, what is expected, clearly, not we want you to get good grades -- but what are good grades, how would you define that, what does that mean?
 
Teachers say if your child shows any signs of struggling with school work address it right away.
 
Chris Zellner, 10th grade teacher
The best person to work with is the teacher, so make an appointment, go after school, before school, whatever time is convenient for both the student and the teacher to get together and work.
 
Most important, teachers say parents should help their kids create a balance between school, activities and friends.

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*Watch the full interview with Heidi Murray, a second grade teacher at Birch Meadow in Reading, and Chris Zellner, a teacher at Bedford High School, in our School Smarts flash player.