Hello!  I have a friend who had a wonderful experience with her son's school counselor when he was in kindergarten.  On the first day of school, all the parents came (and of course were at LEAST as nervous as all the kids were!).  Once the kids were a little bit settled in the class, all the parents left the classroom for a few minutes and the school counselor came and got them and had a short meeting with them about what they should expect from their kindergarteners over the first few weeks (being tired, regressing to "baby behaviors" at home, being more emotional, etc).  She also gave them a little briefing about how to recognize when a child is being bullied and some other great info. She also gave them some insight into how THEY might be feeling as their child "leaves the nest" for the first time.   And of course she welcomed them to meet with her any time they wanted to throughout the year.  Then she brought them back to the classroom so they could say goodbye to the kids (who had learned a "good bye" song from their new teacher while they were gone).

It was a great way to start the counselor/parent relationship on the right foot.  The parents definitley left feeling like the counselor was a great resource for the whole family.

Maybe you could try something like that?  I look forward to hearing what other parents have to say.

Good luck in your new position!

Kat
Education.com Community Team