- Your child is hesitant to go to school or worn down and unhappy at the end of most school days
- Your child has made little progress in the past year — academically, socially, emotionally or physically
- Your child is not performing as well academically as you reasonably think (s)he can
- Your child says “school is boring” or expresses little interest in what (s)he’s learning
- Your child learns more in a core subject outside of school than in school
- Your child’s teachers do not seem to understand your child or appreciate your child’s strengths
- Your child doesn’t seem to have any close friends or friendly acquaintances at school
- Your child regularly makes poor choices at school, such as befriending bullies, choosing work of little interest, focusing on weaknesses rather than strengths — and school staff does nothing to intervene
- You or your child are worried about your child’s health, behavior or personal well-being at school
- Your child shows symptoms of stress only when school’s in session (e.g., sleeplessness, fatigue, excessive clinginess and whining, new nervous habits, regressing to younger behaviors)
Adapted from Picky Parent Guide: Choose Your Child’s School with Confidence, The Elementary Years (K-6). © 2004 by Armchair Press, LLC. All rights reserved.