Editor's note: Thomas Richardson is on vacation. Carol Greer wrote the column this week.

We have completed the first nine weeks of school. Staff, students and parents told me it went by very fast. Each parent should have received a report of how their child is performing so far.

Our congratulations go out to many of the students who have accomplished success in every subject. It is the goal for every student in Hallsville School to be successful. HISD student success is our number one priority. Parents, visit with your student about what they can change and what their teacher can do to help them reach their full potential academically. We will use the data from the first reporting period to know students strengths and weaknesses, then work toward doing what is necessary to improve where improvement is needed.

Communication is an important part of student success. In one word describing communicate, the dictionary simply says connected. We encourage all HISD parents to communicate with their child and with their child's teachers.

Research says what students report to their parents is the best way to communicate information about school. Take time to listen to your child. Everyone is busy, but parents need to make listening a priority, especially when the child still wants to talk to them about school.

Parents need dialogue with their child and their child's teachers. Phone calls, e-mails and personal visits are good ways to communicate with the school.

HISD has several ways to get information to our community. On a district-wide level, communication about school news and activities is best learned through Bobcat Radio at 104.9 FM. If you are out of range, you can call 903-668-5990, ext. 3131, or via the internet at www.hisd.com/radio.

Weekly messages from each principal, other public service announcements and broadcasts, including sports events are provided on Bobcat Radio. For printed information, The Bobcat Broadcaster is mailed or available at www.hisd.com.

For information on the HISD bond and construction, a new publication — Construction Update — is available at www.hisdbond.info.

The Marshall News Messenger and the Longview News Journal provide coverage for our reading audience.

In general, how important is communication? Communication is an important part of life. Communication leads to community, that is, to unity, understanding, mutual valuing and working together to solve needs of others, our community and conflicts.

Quotes from successful communicators may offer helpful advice. For example, Stephen Covey said, "Seek first to understand, then to be understood. "

Tony Robbins said, "To effectively communicate, we must realize that we are all different in the way we perceive the world and use this understanding as a guide to our communication with others."

In communication, you can build rapport with people through understanding and empathy for any circumstance. If you want a positive response, know the feelings of your reader or listener.

For example, if you are answering parents who have questions or concerns about school policies, consider if that were your child, how would you react to an answer provided? What can you say to make things better for them? Can you help their situation? Does what you say lead to understanding? These answers can be used in other situations.

When schools inquire about student success, the questions should be "How can we provide the best education for your child?" and "What can we do to help your child be successful in school and, therefore, in life? "

It has been my experience that if communication shows you are concerned, caring and compassionate, the recipient will see you in that way and all will benefit.

"Communication does not depend on syntax, or eloquence, or rhetoric or articulation but on the emotional context in which the message is being heard," Edwin H. Friedman once said.