With the school year beginning Sept. 8 for Lake Orion Community Schools, board of education members have offered advice steming from their time on the board and their experiences as parents.
~ Megan Hess

President Bill Walters ? Help your child read and help them with their homework. Spend time with your child in any kind of way because, after all, school is an extension of parenthood.
Bob Gritzinger ? Students: Leave your cell phone, Gameboy and iPod at home. Try some face-to-face communication while you’re at school’you might like it. Parents: Ask every day about your child’s day, and don’t accept ‘nothing? happened at school as an answer. In today’s world, if your child spends a day in school and learns nothing new, we’re not doing our job. I suspect, however, that if you ask more specific questions you’ll elicit more detailed answers and you might be pleasantly surprised to discover what your child has learned in a day. You might even learn something new as well. I know I have.
Tina Peterson ? I always like to make sure the kids use and understand their daily planner. Boys especially get overwhelmed with the new amount of assignments. It’s really important to incorporate that and I think parents need to be aware of it. Their planner is almost like their bible. It’s a big change for middle schoolers and a really important one.
Janet Wolverton ? Dress your best for tests.’Put on a favorite outfit or dress up a little more than usual on a test day. The better you feel about yourself the better you’ll think.?
Tiffany Weber-Phillips ? My advice for parents is to get involved and to ask questions.? It is never too early or too late to get involved.? We have great principals and teachers that encourage parental involvement.? The more you get involved, the more you know what is going on in the classroom, the school and in your child’s life.? I know that parents are extremely busy with work and family activities, but even an hour a month would make a difference.