Preparing for Conferences
For many schools, another round of parent-teacher conferences is just around the corner. This meeting with your child’s teacher is a valuable time to find out what happens during the school day and how you can best support both your child and the teacher so they can cross the finish line with confidence.
How to Prepare
Write some questions down before you go. Certainly ask questions about grades and how your child is doing academically, but also think through your child’s behavior, friendships, participation, organizational skills, mental and emotional health, and general problem solving abilities. See below for a list of questions to spark your thinking.
Ask your child for input. Be sure your child knows you will be talking with his or her teacher. What does your child want you to ask and talk about? What does your child think his or her teacher will say?
Be on time and respect the time slot. Teachers are trying to squeeze in a lot of conferences, and when parents are late or keep talking long past the conference time, it can affect a lot of people.
What Questions to Ask
It is important to think beyond grades when talking with teachers. This list of questions might help give you some new ideas. Be sure to ask your most important questions first in case time runs out.
Is my child participating is class?
Is my child being a kind and inclusive friend?
What can I be doing at home to help my child?
Can you explain the grade level expectations?
How is my child getting along with others?
Does my child help other students?
Can you fill me in on this particular situation that happened at school?
Can you explain these performance assessments to me?
How does my child handle frustrations and disappointments in class?
Does my child ask for help?
Do you feel like these grades and assessments are a true representation of what my child is doing or can do?
Can I tell you what I am seeing at home?
What areas does my child need the most help?
What’s the best way to communicate with you?
What classes/teachers/interventions do you think will be best for my child for next year?
Is there any information you would want my child’s tutor to know?
After the Conference
A parent-teacher conference shouldn’t be top secret information. Although it might not be appropriate to share everything that was discussed, it is beneficially to sit down for a few minutes with your child to go over the most important pieces of information. This would certainly include bragging on your child and sharing the strengths that each teacher mentioned. Be sure weaknesses are talked about in the context of a plan and what you will all do to reach your child’s educational goals.
