PCD's Jen Caletri was featured on GoLocal LIVE yesterday to discuss actions students and parents can take to better prepare for the start of the school year. During the segment, Caletri emphasized that completing summer reading and math assignments, reading for enjoyment, adjusting bedtime routines, and discussing current events can all help streamline the transition back to school.
As the first day of school nears, don't forget summer reading and math assignments, says Caletri. Since these assignments often serve as key discussion points for classes to begin the school year, it is important that parents make sure their kids have completed them. Caletri recommends reviewing all expectations and guidelines for assignments, and planning a manageable schedule to accomplish the work.
"Reading for twenty minutes a day is also a great way to get ready to go back to school," Caletri says, "particularly if no summer reading has been assigned." Allowing students to choose books based on their own interests, whether fiction, nonfiction, or graphic novels, is a great way to encourage reading.
Getting enough sleep each night is also a critical part of succeeding at school, and Caletri suggests that now is a good time to start gradually adjusting bedtime routines to a back-to-school schedule. "We ask a lot of our kids during the school day," says Caletri, "so it's really important that they come to school rested." She also cited the American Academy of Pediatrics, which recommends that middle school-aged children get eight and a half to nine and a half hours of sleep per night.
This is also a very complex time to be returning to school, Caletri acknowledges, and it is a good idea to discuss current events with students. This will help them understand facts and process media information related to the pandemic and social justice issues. "As parents, we have to help our kids navigate what they're seeing and hearing in the media. We have to help them process that and find what's true and what's not true." Since these topics will be discussed in schools throughout the upcoming year, talking through issues ahead of time at home can be very helpful.
As families navigate this unusual return to school in uncertain times, the most important thing is for parents to see their teachers and school administrators as resources, Caletri says. "Reach out to them and ask questions," she advises. "They want success for your child just as much as you do. When everybody is on the same page you're going to have the best outcome."
Watch the full GoLocalProvidence interview at: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=332729621429078