Many people can give you suggestions on how to help your child excel at school, and some of them can be suggestions of getting a tutor. Although that can be very helpful if your child needs a little extra help in a certain subject, what I'm going to suggest is the little things a parent can do without a tutor.
Get Involved....be an active participant in the school. Attend SCC meetings or if you know someone who goes to the SCC meeting ask what is going on or ask for a copy of the minutes from the meeting. You can learn a lot of what's going on within the school including how money is going to be fundraised and how that money gets spent. You learn about improvements happening in the school as well. Wheither it's repainting the gym, repaving the play yard, or the new security system.
Being involved in the SCC or as a class volunteer can bring you closer to the people your child is in contact with. You get to know them a bit better and know what kind of person they are. Is their teacher a single mom/dad, do they have kids the same age as yours, can you discuss similar things they are going through like the terrible two's. Having a connection with someone else who is involved with your child can bring comfort to you as a parent, and can bring a smile to that persons face if you can share a similar experience.
Respect! Teachers, Principals, Librarians, and even gym teachers are people with lives outside of school. People with children, homes, partners, family, etc. They deserve our respect in every way you would address a complete stranger who you come across in the grocery store.....but they deserve more. Why? Because they teach your child manners, math, exercise, music, French, English, writing, reading, art and soooooo much more. They are trying their very best to help your child succeed in their life when you aren't there. Be polite to them, give a smile every time you see them.
Another suggestion is be actively involved in their homework. You can learn a lot about your child and their classroom by knowing what they are doing. What's their reading list, spelling list, assignment? Can you help with memorizing something with them? People's lives can be so busy but if you are cooking dinner while they are doing their home work....discuss it with them. Have them read things out loud to you, then ask them to reidderate it to you once finished. Being able to recall what was just read helps it stick in their tiny beautiful sponge brains they possess.
Read with them. Read anything! A shampoo bottle, salad dressing, cereal box, books....anything! So what if we can't pronounce some of the words, it can be fun trying to. Try to buy a book from the book club you may get pamphlets for. There's bound to be at least one book your child would like and when you do buy a book some of that money goes back into your child's classroom. Books are as cheap as $2.50, that's less then a coffee and a muffin. It encourages your child to read, and helps their classroom purchase books, supplies, awards an other things.
Read to yourself too. Showing your child that you enjoy reading is such a good start for them too. I have an addiction to magazines, I subscribe to 4 of them, and they are all over the house, including the bedroom, bathrooms, and kitchen. I even catch my daughter flipping through them while in the bathroom, trying to read them or just making up a story based on a picture.
These are just the start of what wonderful things a parent can do to help their child be a better student and you a better parent for them. These are the things a tutor can't do for your child, but if you put forth a little effort in just one way you do make a difference to your child's education and their school.