The education of a child does not rest solely inside the walls of a classroom, nor is it limited within the confines of a school building or its campus. Rather, it goes beyond that—back to the child’s home and to wherever the child is at in the company of parents or delegated adults. Thus, the relationship between parents and teachers are crucial to the effective education of the child. Not only parents and teachers, but also other staff members, supervisors, and administrators must work collaboratively in order to be effective in this enterprise.
At SLS, it's More Than a Parent-Teacher Relationship
At St. Lawrence Seminary, we strive to work together with the parents of our students. Since St. Lawrence Seminary is a residential program, our students spend the majority of their time on campus during the school year. Twice in every quarter, members of the faculty, residential supervisors, guidance counselor, school nurse, dean of students, academic dean, and rector of the seminary assemble for a meeting.
In that meeting, the aforementioned staff members evaluate the students based on their performance and behavior in the classroom, in the dorm, and anywhere else on campus. Any issues or concerns raised at these meetings are addressed by the faculty and are reflected on the progress reports. Significant issues or concerns are promptly communicated to the parents. Parents are free to contact the teachers, staff, and administrators. Their calls and messages are returned promptly. On some occasion, a phone conference or a meeting interface with specific faculty or staff members and parents may be necessary and can be arranged in order to facilitate further discussion and resolution of the student concerns or issues at hand.
During the school year, St. Lawrence Seminary hosts a Parent-Teacher conference, which usually takes place in the fall semester. Parents, together with their son, meet with the teachers individually. This provides the parents the opportunity to hear from the teachers first hand their son’s performance in the classroom. This also gives the parents the chance to ask the teachers questions and clarify any issues regarding their son’s school work, testing results, behavior, and work with them to find ways and to set goals and expectations in order to improve their son’s academic performance. Parents also meet with the residential supervisors and the dean of students for an evaluation of their son’s attitudes and behaviors in dorms and throughout campus, as well as their participation in the school’s programs.
Open Communication Sets Students up for Success
I cannot emphasize more the importance of having a strong Parent-Teacher relationship, or in the case of boarding schools like St. Lawrence Seminary, a strong Parent-Teacher-Staff-Administration relationship, in the overall education and formation of the student. The aim of having this relationship is to foster openness, communication, transparency, and collaboration in the overall education of the child. The more open the communication, the more transparent the program, and the more able and willing each party is to collaboration, then surely, not only will the student have a better chance at success, the school and parents will have as well.
