I don’t know how to advise parents.

I have an 8th grade boy. About 20% of my class.<br><br>He does zero work. Never does the homework. Will do the classwork, but won’t put very much effort into it. If I call on him, he usually doesn’t know the answer. But he is super charismatic and funny. He’s the kid that has most of the class laughing. He’s also super affectionate. He hugs me every day and a few times a week he’ll give me a high five.<br><br>I have to give progress reports on the 20th of the month. Of course the parents called me as soon as they saw the 20%. And of course they called me angry.<br><br>I advised them to have him stay after school and work on his missing work. (I offered extra help on Wednesday’s for kids struggling. They declined). He also needs to put more effort in. He’s been doing the bare minimum in class.<br><br>But the parents want to know more. They want to know how to help him. I’m struggling to know what to say. I’m not a therapist, and I feel like he needs one. This is a very good school, and all of the kids are well taken care of and come from nice homes. I don’t think it’s neglect. I can’t pinpoint what’s going on.<br><br>I think he struggles, and it’s hard for him to do the work and he has created this coping mechanism to make jokes and be the funny kid. But I also think that he puts zero effort in because he thinks he’s stupid, and he’s trying to make up for it by being liked socially. He’s in advanced math and science, and struggles in both of those classes as well as mine. <br><br>I don’t know what to say to the parents. I feel like I’m just repeating myself on how to help him and it’s not coming across as genuine. How do I help him? I’m not a special education teacher. The best I can do for him is give extra help on Wednesday’s and give him extra time to finish his work. I also give him separate assignments that are more modified for him so he can feel more successful.<br><br>What else do I suggest? How do I encourage him to put more effort in?