Establish a solid foundation with your child's teacher. Let him know you want reports, calls and updates on any thing below optimum behavior or indicates lack of interest in schoolwork right away.
Heed to the teacher's concerns about your child. Try to encourage the teacher to talk of positive behavior too. Sit in the classroom and observe circle time or playtime to see what the problem is.
If you notice and agree that your child is not doing well in school, take quick action by getting your child a tutor.
Check homework with your child. If you can easily talk about the homework, then all is well. If communication about homework is a bit strained, this is one of the first indicators that the child needs a tutor.
See if different counting methods are done easily. Like counting by twos, threes and fives. Look for completed homework and classwork. Study the schoolwork and see if it is neat, messy, correct or incorrect, or has no answers on it at all.
Go over the vowel sounds and the order of the alphabet. If your one-on-one homework is failing with your child, this is a red flag. You need a tutor now. If parents don't know the basics of studying, most likely they can't help their children with schoolwork.
Study the solar system with your second grader. If she can grasp the ideas easily and shows a strong interest, this is a good sign. Try reading out loud every other night for about 30 minutes. If this goes well, then your second grader is probably doing well. If she cannot grasp the science ideas and can't read out loud without difficulty, contact a tutor.