WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama means it when he says parents need to be involved in their children's education.
Obama and first lady Michelle Obama made an early Monday morning trip to the private Sidwell Friends School for parent-teachers conferences. It was at least the fourth time that he has visited the school since moving to Washington in January.
Malia, 11, is a sixth-grader at the school's District of Columbia campus. Sister Sasha, 8, attends third grade at the Bethesda, Md., campus.
The Obamas went first to Sasha's school, then to Malia's, then back to the White House before 9:30 a.m.
The school was told ahead of time that the first lady was coming but the president's visit was a surprise, according to the White House.
Neither the president nor the first lady miss any opportunity to meet their daughters' teachers. They didn't miss any parent-teacher conferences during his long campaign for the White House, either.
Since January, the Obamas attended a presentation by Sasha's class that month, and parent-teacher meetings in March and May.
School ended in late May and reopened the day after Labor Day, which would mean Monday's meeting was the couple's first chance to get to know their daughters' new teachers.
Their involvement extends outside the classroom, too.
The president and first lady are regulars on the sidelines of their daughters' basketball and soccer games, where they sometimes cheer. At one game, after Sasha's team scored, Obama excitedly shouted "Go ... go ... go ... goal!"