How to Advocate for Your Child at School

August 26, 2025 byJulie Hersum

5 min to read

Parents are usually a child’s first and strongest advocates, and they take on this role in different ways. At school, this might mean speaking up for special services, advanced opportunities, or everyday academic needs. While educators also work as advocates for student success, parents bring a unique voice and perspective. Knowing how to advocate for your child at school can strengthen the partnership between families and educators and boost student success.

What Is an Advocate?

Aan advocate is a person who stands for the needs of a student when it comes to requesting accommodation or support. This person communicates with faculty and staff on behalf of the student to ensure that their needs are reasonably met. Advocates can be a Learning Coach, parent, guardian, or caregiver, and in this role, you are your child’s best advocate because you see their triumphs, sorrows, achievements, and challenges on a regular basis. This makes you uniquely positioned to communicate with your student’s school about their needs.

What Does an Advocate Do?

If something feels off—maybe your student is struggling with assignments, feeling overwhelmed, or just not thriving—advocating for additional support in the classroom might be your best course of action. But knowing what to do or how to advocate for your child at school isn’t always intuitive.

As a Learning Coach, parent, or caregiver, it’s important to know you can:

share your observations with faculty and staff about how school is affecting your student academically, socially, and emotionally

give the school documentation from outside specialists who’ve conducted academic and mental health testing and screenings, IQ tests, and medical records

request a discussion about academic or behavioral observations and tests for your child

schedule meetings with teachers and staff to discuss action plans and solutions

Why Advocacy Matters in Education

Schools work hard to meet the needs of all students, but no one knows a child better than their families. Because students may not always be able to speak up for themselves, parents and caregivers play a powerful role in helping to communicate the support their child needs. Advocacy ensures a child’s voice is heard and helps create the best possible school experience, while also modeling good communication techniques when the time comes for them to advocate for their own needs.

Also, students thrive when they know the adults in their lives are advocating for them. Whether it’s over a homework hurdle or a bigger-picture learning plan, they feel safer, more confident, and more motivated to succeed when they feel like their caregivers are invested in their educational journey.

An online school student, who uses a wheelchair, speaking with her teacher through a video chat.

Signs Your Child Needs Academic Advocacy

Every child is different, but here are some clues yours may need extra support:

1. Sudden Drop in Grades

This could indicate confusion, frustration, or an unmet learning need.

2. Frequent Frustration or Meltdowns

Outbursts around homework or online lessons can signal overwhelm or a gap in understanding.

3. Loss of Interest in Learning

When students call school boring or pointless, they may be disengaged or not feel challenged.

4. Avoidance or Procrastination

Constantly putting off assignments? It could be a stress response to academic struggles.

5. Working Hard but Falling Behind

If your student puts in the time but sees little progress, they may need a different teaching approach.

6. Difficulty Staying Organized

Trouble with schedules, instructions, or turning in work may point to executive functioning challenges.

7. Feeling Overlooked or Ignored

Comments like "No one helps me" or "The teacher never calls on me" may mean your child isn’t feeling supported.

8. Negative Feedback Without Solutions

If teachers express concerns without offering strategies, it could be time to speak up and collaborate.

9. Not Enough Challenge

Your child might need enrichment or acceleration if they're breezing through lessons or tuning out.

10. Anxiety or Low Confidence

Statements like "I’m dumb" or "I’ll never get this" could mean they’re feeling discouraged and need extra encouragement and academic support.

How to Advocate for Your Child's Needs in School

Here are some best practices to help you learn how to advocate for your child in a partnership-focused way:

1. Start With a Collaborative Tone

Remember, teachers want their students to succeed. Try framing your conversation as a partnership by saying something like:

“I’d love to work together to support [child’s name]. Here’s what I’ve been noticing at home.”

2. Be Clear and Specific

Share specific observable behaviors.

“She spent 30 minutes on a single math problem” versus “She’s struggling with math.”

3. Share Strengths Too

Let the school know what motivates your child:

“He’s really motivated by hands-on projects.”
“She thrives with visual instructions.”

An online school student, who uses a wheelchair, studies for school on a tablet.

4. Ask for Input

Invite the teacher to share observations and ask them what’s worked with similar students.

“Have you noticed similar challenges in class?”
“What strategies have worked with similar students?”

5. Put Follow-Up in Writing

After your conversation, send a short email summarizing what you discussed to help keep everyone aligned and accountable.

6. Stay Connected

If your child continues to experience difficulties, be sure to stay in communication with the school team. A communication plan should be developed. Others may be invited as needed to problem solve and implement solutions. Above all, center the conversation on your child's needs to be successful in school.
Above all, center the conversation on the child’s success instead of blame or fault.

What if You're Not Getting the Support Your Child Needs in School?

If you’ve already tried advocating for your child’s needs in school but nothing is changing, you’re not out of options. Knowing how to advocate for your child at school can make a big difference. Try the following approach when you’ve spoken up, but your student still isn’t getting the help they need:

Take stock of what you’ve tried so far. Note who you spoke with, what was discussed, and what outcomes followed.

Ask what additional school members would be appropriate to join in the next meeting to discuss support for your child.

Request accommodations. If your child has an IEP or 504 plan, request a team meeting to review the plan.

Keep documentation: A log will help you remember details of meetings, action plans and support in place.

Advocating for your child’s needs is one of the most powerful ways to support them. It starts with being present, asking questions, and reminding your child: “I see you. I hear you. I’m here to help you succeed.” And with the right support, they will thrive in school and beyond.

To learn how you can get involved in your child’s education with opportunities to provide meaningful input, explore a Connections Academy online public school, download our free eGuide, or learn about our online private school option, Pearson Online Academy.