Being Proactive is the Key! pulls from my over eighteen years of experience serving as a school counselor and provided nuggets that I felt would help parents better navigate the school system.
Once you have a grasp on the operating functions of a school, the role your parenting style plays in the process, and the services, resources and options available you can better strategize for your child’s postsecondary planning.
The book contains 20 essential tips that I feel parents need to know to give their child a great head start. The tip below is for my parents at the home stretch. Hang in there–you’ll make it to the finish line!
Enjoy this final sneak peek of the book and make sure you get a copy!
Tip #20: Effectively Deal with “Senioritis”
Every senior, no matter how great of a student, falls prey to the curse of “senioritis.” Many assumptions are made regarding graduation. Kids fall into a false sense of security that they’ll pass. They become very lax with their attendance, skip assignments or finals, and cruise through the last marking period. They’re tired, stressed, and overwhelmed, and don’t feel like meeting their responsibilities. The chances of them slacking off and allowing grades to decline can be high.
Again, don’t take them at their word. Check and verify for this is the most crucial time of follow-up with the school. Make sure you:
- Contact the school counselor to see progress in grades, attendance and other areas of concern.
- Check with the counselor to see which classes are required for graduation.
- Don’t allow your child to schedule classes they have a history of failing (unless it is a requirement). If your child has a history of failing classes, it’s likely they will fail some senior courses. Stay in contact with school regularly to avoid surprises.
- Schools typically do not drop courses after the first quarter unless there’s a dire reason. Make sure that students
are not going to overwhelm themselves their senior year by taking too many honors or AP classes that they will then ask to be removed from later. - Make sure your child avoids getting any “F’s” in a class that is not required for graduation. The “F” will lower their final grade point average. Additionally, it’s very common to have to request a transcript in the future for a job or college transfer and any failure, regardless of what the class is, doesn’t look good.
- Check online or with teachers to ensure that your child doesn’t have an unexpected grade drop during the last marking period. Some may still pass their classes, but may get a “D” in a course that should have resulted in a “B” or “C.”
- Make sure all other graduation requirements have been satisfied (i.e. graduation project, senior paper, etc.).
- Colleges will ask for final transcripts. If your child made a major decline, the school has the option of revoking their acceptance. It’s not an everyday occurrence, but it does happen.
- Make arrangements for final transcripts to be sent to the college. These aren’t available until after graduation. Not doing this will delay registration for classes and moving on campus.
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