10 Ways to Help Kids Find Academic Success

The first day of school has come and gone.

Now is the time for kids to get down to the business of learning.

But homework for the little ones — and even the older ones — often translates into homework for the adults, which brings to light such questions as: 

• How much should parents help with their kids' homework?
• When should a parent seek extra help from teachers?
• How can parents set their child up for success?

There are several ways parents can get involved and help children obtain the most from their education.

Patch.com recently met with Christine Tilles, owner and executive director of the , to discuss helpful tips parents can implement to assist their children this school year.

A certified teacher herself, Tilles specializes in helping children improve learning and study skills. , 4590 Princeton Lane, serves 60 students with reading, writing, mathematics skills and subject tutoring.

The facility also has 20 high school-age students in its ACT Prep class, Tilles said. Her ACT tutors are all area teachers and must take the ACT test and achieve a composite score of 30. Huntington has seen an average five-point increase on the ACT test by its students, Tilles said.

Tilles outlined 10 specific steps parents can follow to ensure their children reach optimum performance in school this year.

1. Get to know your child’s teacher.

Get to know your child’s teacher so you know what the teacher’s expectations are for the class.

“If your child is in middle or high school and has multiple teachers, attend the school’s parent night to meet the teacher, learn the class expectations and find out if your child has been doing what he/she is supposed to be doing,” Tilles said.

2. Set study and homework expectations at a young age.

When your children are young, let them know that school and homework are No. 1, and that you, as parents, take it very seriously.

“You can tell them as long as they’re trying their best, that’s what you’re looking for,” Tilles said. “If you express higher expectations, children will rise to them.”

3. Make sure you have a homework routine.

Set aside homework time every night — a time when children are focused completely on homework. They’re not receiving calls, sending text messages or distracted. The amount of time necessary to complete the homework varies from age to age.

“Little kids may need half an hour to an hour,” Tilles said. “High school students need about two hours every night if they’re doing their homework, reading and studying ahead for quizzes.”

5. Set up a good homework/ study area.

Arrange a place where your kids will complete their homework every night. Make certain it is free from other distractions and has all the necessary schoolwork accessories, such as pencils, calculators, rulers, etc.

“Some kids like to work at the kitchen table," Tilles said. “If it’s working, fine. My gauge is the results in grades. Some kids listen to music while they study. Again, is it working? If they’re retaining the information, fine. If not, you need to make some changes.”

6. Help your children with their organizational skills.

“This is the biggest problem I see in junior high and high school students,” Tilles said. “The students don’t know how to organize their work. “

Many parents assume children know how to organize their schoolwork, but many don’t. They need to be taught. Ways to organize include using color-coded folders to coordinate classes, or using a file organizer labeled with class subject names.

“Kids should not be putting their homework in their back pocket or in their books,” Tilles said. “It’s important for them to be organized. A couple missed assignments can mean the difference in a grade.”

Tilles said it’s also important for kids to go through their folders and remove old homework pages and tests.

“Have kids go through their folders on a daily basis so they don’t get so many papers they can't find anything,” Tilles said. “You can make a separate file for old work so they can still refer to it to study for a test. Once you set up these expectations, you won’t have to check on them as much. Routines are important.”

7. Skill problems.

Tilles said it’s very important for parents to communicate to teachers when their child doesn’t understand schoolwork.

“Some kids just shut down when they don’t understand something,” Tilles said. “Especially with older kids, make sure your child tells the teacher when he/she doesn’t understand. Let the teacher know your child is struggling. Otherwise, the teacher might think your student is simply not doing the work."

8. Homework is your child’s responsibility.

Send the message at a young age that homework is your child’s responsibility, not yours. At about third-grade and beyond, parents should start stepping back and let children experience their own success — and failures, Tilles said.

“It’s hard to watch them suffer consequences, but that helps them with self-confidence and become more independent,” Tilles said. “If children have questions, they can check with their parents. But, other than that, you shouldn’t be doing the homework for them, or sitting beside them while they do it.”

9. “Chunking” homework.

If a child is overwhelmed by the amount of homework, parents can lessen kids’ stress level by breaking homework time into manageable time chunks. When chunking, parents can allow their children to get up, have a snack and go play outside for a while.

“Do whatever it takes to help the child re-focus when he sits down again to do homework,” Tilles said. “Kids don’t have to sit for two hours straight to do homework. Depending on your child, allow him/ her to get up, take a break or even run around for an hour. If the nightly homework routine seems overwhelming to a child, it helps to break it into pieces."

10. Use assignment notebooks.

Starting in elementary school, parents should insist their children develop the habit of using daily assignment notebooks. Some teachers and schools require students to use them.

But as children progress through the higher grade levels, teachers typically don’t check assignment notebooks.

“I find a lot of kids don’t use them,” Tilles said. “They might own one, but they aren’t using it. Or, they lose the notebooks. If you ask, most middle school teachers will sign a student’s assignment notebook to verify he has written down his daily homework."

Insist that your high-school student use his/her notebook so all homework assignments are listed in one place.