All of the above answers have great ideas.One thing that has been huge for me is volunteering on a regular basis in my son's classroom. I did this one day a week for 1 to 2 hrs at a time. This allowed me to know first hand several things:- The teacher's instructional style. My son is a very active boy and he learns very quickly when there are activities to do associated with the subject. When his teacher is more into copying things from the board that allows me to know that I need to supplement our home learning with more activities.- What precisely they are learning in school. Yes they send things home but knowing first hand allows me to pick up on things my son will "forget" to tell me.-It allows the teacher to know you and that you are serious about their education. I have gotten great information about my child's behavior and progress in the two-minutes the teacher and I talk during my volunteer time.- It allows me to know the OTHER kids in the class. I can spot the positive and negative influences rather quickly (behaviors not kids) and handle them right off the bat. i.e. I know that Willie thinks it is funny to tell jokes during class, but the time to do that in recess and lunch and that is when you will do it.I hope this helps.

__________________
Yahoo!