Jennifer Barce is the assistant dean for teacher education in the College of Education at Purdue University. In this video, she gives advice on how parents and students can prepare as kids head back to school. Barce encourages her student teachers to be healthy, well rested and fed before teaching. She says this same advice should also be taken by students. Physical and emotional needs should be met so that students are ready to learn. Barce says parent involvement is important now more than ever with the teacher shortage. She says volunteering, donating and attending events are important, but recognizes that not everyone can get involved. One high-impact but low-effort strategy she recommends is interacting with the school’s social media accounts. Leaving positive comments and showing encouragement for your teacher online can be very helpful. With the ongoing teacher shortage, Barce says parents should be in communication with teachers and school administrators. Keeping a positive connection with teachers and staying informed about what is going on in the classroom is important.