Volume 5, Issue 3

We are wrapping up our first quarter of the 26-27 school year in a few days. I’ve seen science experiments with sun dials and parachutes, math activities and graphing charts that blew my mind, witnessed passionate debates about US history, was inspired by creative writing and poetry, heard our band make beautiful music while other students made beautiful works of art – in short, our kids have been doing amazing things while being supported by our creative staff.

With conferences coming up, one question that I’m frequently asked by parents is “how can I keep track of what’s going on in my child’s day-to-day education?”. I have the privilege of working at the school where my kids go, but that is not the case for most parents; as such, when I inevitably get asked this question at least once during every conference, I give the following pieces of advice:

• Build relationships with your child’s teachers: Conferences are a great time to get an overall summary of your child’s progress, but did you know that teachers have office hours every week that are specifically designed for parent communication? Furthermore, all staff emails are listed on our website – reach out with questions at any time!
• Get online: Facebook is a great way to see some of the fun activities that happen on a daily basis here. However, Class Dojo & Google Classroom will give more details as to the specific classes your child is in – look for updates every day!
• Interrogate your child: We all know that kids love to say “fine” or “ok” when we ask how their day was, but dig deeper! Ask about the best and worst parts of their day, get subject specific (“what did you do in ELA today?”), and always ask to look at their folders and planners/agendas.

As I write about communication, I’m also reminded that a foundation of communication is literacy – which has been a hot topic in schools across the state lately. The article of the month that is shared below gives an overview of some of the new literacy strategies that schools across the state are implementing, and while I am hopeful that these strategies will make a dent in the test scores across the state, I also know that none of these strategies matter as much as parental involvement and communication. The strategies will have a positive impact – to be clear, we’re already ahead of the curve with our staff being trained in LETRS for several years, and have rolled out the strategies outlined in the article – but the aforementioned communication tips, coupled with encouraging reading at home, will have as strong of an impact, if not stronger, than anything our teachers do. All of the above will help foster stronger academic performance for our students, which is what we want to see.

So as we wrap-up the first quarter, let’s challenge ourselves as parents/guardians and try to communicate more frequently throughout the year – with our kids, their teachers, and other parents – and work to make the rest of the year as strong as possible!

Sincerely,

Joshua Sobczak,
Superintendent

Article of the Month: https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/local/2026/10/27/michigan-has-a-plan-to-fix-its-literacy-crisis-heres-what-will-change-in-classrooms/
Related Video: https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/local/2026/10/29/did-you-watch-local-4s-literacy-special-we-want-to-hear-from-you/