The Scariest Time Of The Year: Mid-Term Grades

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While October rushes us into Halloween and other fall fun festivities, on the Mom calendar, October also marks another annual milestone: report cards and parent/teacher conferences. Education is the one area where parents feel strongly they can make a big difference in the lives of their children and is also the one area that causes great parental stress—especially when the first round of report cards isn’t showing stellar grades or the parent/teacher conference is uncovering some major learning issues. 

Even if you are not an educational institution or a tutoring company, you can help alleviate some of this mid-term grade stress by supporting parents in their effort to build stronger students. Here are some ideas:

Offer Educational Incentives: Create programs that encourage kids to achieve academic success such as a reading initiative that offers discounts on products or services for kids that read so many books. 

Provide Educational Resources: Do you have a waiting room where parents and kids congregate before practice sessions or doctor appointments? In the midst of the magazines, consider adding some educational resources to the mix such as workbooks or videos. 

Offer Outside Expertise: Partner with a local tutor and host a parenting seminar on improving study skills or work with a professional organizer to do a workshop on creating the best study space for kids. For older kids, consider developing a college/career program that will help both parents and students choose the next steps of their educational journey.

Build a Community: Moms really like to connect with other moms who understand their situation and can provide valuable insight. Make your brand the conduit for building these relationships by offering moms the opportunity to gather either online or offline to share study tips, homework help, etc. 

When in doubt, ask a mom -- ask your customers, your friends, your family members. Discover what the biggest academic challenge is for them at this time of the school year, and see what your brand might be able to do to help parents find educational success.

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1 comment on "The Scariest Time Of The Year: Mid-Term Grades ".

1. Michal Clements from Insight to Action, Inc.
   

   commented on: October 10, 2012 at 3:33 p.m.
   Interesting post Patti! Technology can play a role, since online is critical to mom’s being up to date on those mid-term grades. As of 2011, a representative national sample (Marketing to Moms Coalition) showed 47% of moms with kids ages 7-12 and 67% of moms of teens agreeing that they monitor their child’s grades online. Online is the way to sign up for parent teacher conferences, and for kids to do their homework. In fact, 23% of moms of kids 7-12 and 33% of moms of teens reported their child has to upload assignments.

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