School Success for Kids

Regular school attendance helps children develop their academic and social-emotional skills. KCHA works with parents, students, and community partners across 17 school districts to support childen's academic and social-emotional learning so that they have a bright future.

For Parents

1. Learning starts at home: Read, sing, and tell stories to your children; Encourage them to look at books or read every day; Talk to them about what they learned in school.

2. Get involved in your child’s school and education: Attend parent-teacher conferences and school events; Talk to other parents about school; Volunteer to help at school.

3. Make sure your child attends school every day, on time: Make sure your child goes to school every day unless they are sick; Plan ahead to be on time for school every day; Older children should not miss school to care for younger brothers or sisters.

4. If you have to move to a different area, schedule your move during summer break. Students do better academically, socially, and emotionally, when they are in the same school for the full school year. Changing schools is harder on students because they have to adjust to new teachers, new rules, and new friends. To learn about specific schools in any city, visit Great Schools.

Early Learning

Children start learning the day they are born, and develop early language, math, and social skills in the youngest years. Young children (ages 0-5) in early learning programs like playgroups, ECEAP, and Head Start do better in school, academically, socially, and emotionally.

Call Childcare Resources at (206) 329-5544 to learn more about Play & Learn groups and other programs for children younger than age 5. Call your local school district for Head Start information.

KCHA has Early Learning Connectors who work with parents to help support the learning and development of young children at eight properties, including Birch Creek, Valli Kee, Cascade, Spiritwood Manor, Hidden Village, Eastside Terrace, College Place and Ballinger Homes. This work is supported by a partnership with KidVantage.

After-school Learning Programs

Learning does not end when the school day is over. You can enroll your child in after-school learning programs that include math, reading, technology, science, music, and art. These activities help children learn and have fun, and are available from kindergarten through high school. Contact your local school to learn more about after-school programs in your area.

Moving with Children

You can help your child do well in school by keeping them at the same school until summer, when they are between grades. Research shows that children who change schools during the school year tend not to perform as well as those who do not, because they:

• Fall behind in their studies and take a long time to catch up
• Have to get used to new teachers and new rules
• Have to make new friends and may feel left out

To learn more about an area's schools, visit GreatSchools. The site lets you compare schools based on test scores, class sizes, parent reviews, and more.