BEGIN REVIEWING YOUR FINDINGS IN STEP 1:

In step 2 you will use the information that you gathered in step 1 to help you develop goals for your child’s learning success. Begin by taking 5 minutes to read over the answers to your questions, notes, and findings in step 1.  What are your conclusions and concerns? Make a list your concerns. Select a concern to be addressed. You will use that concern to create an individualized educational goal for your child. This process can be repeated to address each one of your concerns. 

The following example will be used throughout the goal writing process. It will guide you through the process of goal writing. You can use this as a template for writing your own goal.

Example: For our purposes, after reviewing everything in step 1, a parent has serious concerns about their child passing the first marking period.      The parent writes the concern like this: I am concerned about my child passing the first marking period.   

Your next question is: How can a parent turn this concern into a realistic goal? Keep reading to find out. You can use this method as a template to help you set individual goals for your children. What is your concern? Did you write it down? If not, do it now.

So, how do you accomplish this? 

Most parents have goals, but some parents seem to accomplish far more than others. Parents who succeed usually find their success rooted in using a systematic, proven method of goal setting and goal attainment. 

LET’S BEGIN THE SEVEN STEPS TO WRITING YOUR GOAL USING YOUR CONCERN:

What is a systematic, proven method of goal setting?  

HAVE PAPER AND PENCIL HANDY. BY THE END OF STEP 2 YOU SHOULD HAVE AT LEAST ONE WRITTEN GOAL!

• 1. Your goal should be specific. Pinpoint the goal for your child to a desirable outcome. Use the following questions to help you through this part of the process. If possible, it is best for both parents to engage in this process. It can ‘double the outcome’ and make your job easier when parents work together.  Remember to consider the information that you gathered from others who engage with your child in step 1, such as, teachers, club or sports leaders, grandparents etc. They may have valuable insight that can help you streamline your goal/goals setting even further. As you continue writing your goal you will be considering your desired outcome.  What is your desired outcome? (who, what, where, when, why, how) How are you going to accomplish your goal?  Now let’s continue writing our goal using the following example.  Begin by including in your goal, who and your desired outcome.
• Example of a concern: The parent writes the concern like this: I am concerned about my child passing the first marking period.   
  
•  Example of how to turn the concern turned into a goal. 
• The parent writes their goal: My child will pass all subjects for the first marking period. 

• 2. Now we need to make your child’s goal measurable. What kind of realistic progress do you expect to see? How much progress or how many times it will be completed, etc? How will you measure your child’s progress? Remember that you can make your progress markers at varying intervals. They may be ‘baby steps’ at the beginning and later expanded to larger ‘steps’.  Add to the goal that you have written for your child. You can use the following as a template.
•  Let’s continue adding to our goal example by making it measurable:
•  Now my measurable written goal is:  My child will pass all subjects for the first marking period with a grade of 70 or above.I will monitor my child’s progress daily with his teacher by checking for grades of 70 or above.  
• Note: Considering that 70 is passing it was added to the goal. This goal is now measurable and the parent  will measure the goal daily by receiving daily reports/ grades from the child’s school.
• 3. Make your goal/ goals attainable/achievable. You can get feedback from teachers or others working with your child to help you meet this criteria. The following questions can also help you. What skills do you and your child need to attain this goal? What resources are needed by you and your child?  Books can be borrowed from schools or your local library. Your librarian can use Interlibrary loan to get books for you. It is best to put in your interlibrary request as soon as possible. It can take time to receive your books. However, the service is free and handy!
• Let’s continue building on our example: 
• Our goal is : My child will pass all subjects for the first marking period with a grade of 70 or above.I will monitor my child’s progress daily with his teacher by checking for grades of 70 or above.   
• Now let’s think about the child’s skill level in this example. In this example the child has been tested at school and has the skills needed to succeed. 
• Now let’s think about resources as it could pertain to this example. In this example the school has provided the parent with a list of books to use at home and the curriculum. The parent and the child know what to study. The parents in this example also have all home study supplies and have provided a study area for their child. So, this goal seems attainable for this child.
• 4. Double check to make sure you are setting realistic goals for your child.  Goals usually provide some challenge. How much will depend upon your child and where your child is presently functioning. If your child is easily frustrated, you may consider setting your goals in ‘baby steps’ or mini goals to get them started on a positive note. If you make the goal too easy, your child may not take this process seriously. Work together as parents, check with teachers and others if you have questions about how much challenge should be placed in your goal/goals for your child. 
• Our goal is : My child will pass all subjects for the first marking period with a grade of 70 or above.I will monitor my child’s progress daily with his teacher by checking for grades of 70 or above.   
•  Is this goal realistic? Yes, but could it be too easy? Possibly, if your child is use to getting good grades so you may decide to change the goal. You could change the expected grade. Making modifications will help you individualize the goal to meet your child’s needs. 
• 5. You should have a projected goal deadline. What is your projected deadline? Is your deadline realistic? Deadlines are helpful to you and to your children. However, you will most likely find that deadlines frequently change and fluctuate when you are dealing with your child’s learning. The reason for this is simple. Your child will master some goals/ tasks/ skills far ahead of your projected timeline! Then your child is ready to move on to the next skill level! However, there will be times when your child is not mastering a goal by your projected timeline. There are many reasons that this could happen. Often it is because a child has gaps in his/her learning. This means that they could be missing an important foundational skill. In the classroom, teachers are aware of skill development and assess children to locate gaps. Once located, the skill is typically retaught and the child can be brought up to grade level or skill level etc.There are other possible reasons for not reaching your goal. So, don’t be frustrated when this happens. The following questions may help you through this process when this happens. 
• Is anything distracting happening in your child’s life? 
• Has there been some interruption to your school/home routine which could contribute to the delay. Remember to check with your child’s teachers. They can provide you with a great deal of information about your child’s academic/skill levels. Tell them ahead of time that you want the information. This will give a teacher time to pull up all of his/her academic information. They have a great deal of information that they can share with you about your child’s skill levels and performances in each subject. 
• Our goal is : My child will pass all subjects for the first marking period with a grade of 70 or above.I will monitor my child’s progress daily with his teacher by checking for grades of 70 or above.   
• . In our example the time frame to complete the goal is the end of the first marking period.  
• How often can you receive reports from school? You can ask for periodic progress reports. Depending upon your child’s needs, progress reports are typically sent out: daily, weekly, every 2-3 weeks etc. Teachers typically work with parents to decide how often progress reports are sent home.
• 6. Compose your goals:  Write down your goal. You can use the format in the example to write a goal for our example to help you.
• Example: For the first marking period, I will help my child study to pass all of his classes with at least a grade of 70. I will check my child’s reports daily and I will check for grades of 70 and above in all subjects on progress reports.
• There are times when you plan goals with your child. The following will provide you with some suggestions.