Emphasizing Phonics, Even if the Teacher Isn't

Fairfax County

I realize my suggestion of a 30-minute meeting with the principal before making a final decision on a school sounds unusual, but I got the idea from principals, not from parents.

The best principals I know would love to have that much contact with their new families. Ask principals or teachers you know, and they will tell you that they find it invaluable to get a sense of the parents' values and concerns, and that the initial contact reaps huge rewards if the child gets into trouble at school.

They would also tell you your estimates are inflated, because few parents avail themselves of this opportunity. I realize there are columnists who belittle educators, but I am the opposite variety. More than 90 percent of what I write is about our best teachers and principals, such as the people at the Knowledge Is Power Program charter schools, the subject of my next book. Those schools require that every new family have an interview of approximately 30 minutes with a school staff member, often the principal or vice principal, for all of the reasons above.

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