2 Answers
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Why so tentative? I thnk it's possible to be direct and tactful, using the teacher's preferred contact method. In California public schools, I think a teacher is legally obligated to return your email within 24 hours; in private school, your mileage may vary. A tougher question is: what do you do when the teacher is obstinate or doesn't understand your concerns? That's a problem I have faced before. Where I see opportunities, some teachers have seen problems or threats.
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I agree with pconrad. I also think that the teachers need to hear it. If not from the parents, who else? I speak up and talk to the teachers when I feel the need to. Frequently, if I have an issue I discover that other parents have had the same ones.
When I speak to the teachers (and sometimes the owner of the school), I try to present the problem as I see it in a blame-free manner. I ask the teacher what they think about it, and many times I learn something new about my child. We then try to come up with a solution to the problem together. Talking about it does make me feel better - it's never quite as bad as I thought.
One thing I'd suggest at this point though is that you might want to choose a couple top things to bring up first as your list has gotten kind of long. I have discovered that they respond very well to 1 or 2 issues at a time.
