Answers From the Teacher

My friend’s son goes to a school that has a morning program. Each day the entire school meets in the auditorium where they begin the day with announcements and songs. My son’s school doesn’t have anything like this, so I’d be interested in getting a morning program started. What’s my first move?

A morning program is a school-wide gathering of students and teachers where students showcase classroom events. Education is the headliner in morning programs where classes may present a song or short skit about a relevant topic. Some morning programs are used for in-struction and include things such as the word of the day or an interesting historical fact. Other morning programs center on character education, but most emphasize learning how to be a polite and attentive audience as an important component. Morning programs may meet every morning, or just once a week. Educationally sound morning programs do not waste precious learning time, but foster growth, and self-esteem while taking advantage of the benefits of being together.

Begin with the Parent Teacher Or-ganization in your school. Attend a meeting and see if the members can direct you. They may suggest you speak directly to the principal, since very little can occur in a school without an administrator’s approval.

Next you will need to enlist help. It takes a lot of planning and many hours of follow through to produce a worthwhile morning program. If you’re interested in starting a morning program at your school, get ready to form a committee including teachers, several parents and an administrator. Local businesses have even been known to become involved, thus opening the school to the community, not just to the parents of the students who attend the school. You will need to work closely with teachers and administrators who are the ones who will be organizing the students who will participate each day.

Where can I find out what’s happening on a national and local level about certain educational issues?

Try the NCLB Web site at www.no-childleftbehind.gov where you can find out educational issues on the national level. There are countless links to help you find answers to your questions about educational issues. The Web site is the official US Department of Edu-cation site about the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) education law that was passed in 2002.

To find out about local issues, lo-cate your school district’s web address, where you may be able to find all sorts of answers including who’s in charge of curriculum and more mundane topics such as the lunch menu. But there’s really no substitute for be-ing in your child’s school. Go to parent-teacher meetings, attend assemblies, and school plays and concerts. You can also learn a lot by attending school board meetings. You’ll be able to learn about educational issues and community issues that are current. If you have a specific question, ask the person closest to the situation. That may be your child’s teacher for a ques-tion about homework, the principal if you had a question about school policy, or the central administration if you had a question that may pertain to the entire district.

Send questions to: Answers from the Teacher, P.O. Box 54, South Egremont, MA 01258. Questions may also be e-mailed to answersfromtheteacher@adelphia.net.