When should I ask my child’s teacher questions?
As a navi parent the teacher is usually the first stop for a parent to ask about your child. Especially in elementary school the child’s teacher is with the child all day excluding specials like gym, art and music and other special activities. The elementary teacher observes the child for over 6 hours a day and knows the child in the school the best. If your child is in middle school or high school that child has multiple teachers a day but usually the child has a homeroom teacher that you can contact and the homeroom teacher is usually the teacher that monitors the students in his/her class to observe progress and identify any problems.
As a parent, contacting the homeroom teacher would be the first step. However if is a specific question related to a particular subject contact that specific teacher for that subject.
The teachers also can give general information about school policy or be able to direct you to the correct person that deals with that topic. Many times the teachers will give a heads up to the person in charge of the situation so they will be ready for the call.
Remember that the teacher really does not make policy decisions and if decisions that are anything not related to something in his/her classroom you will need to take your questions to the principal.