Survival Guide for Parent-Teacher Conferences

At one time or another during a student's career, parents will be summoned for a parent teacher conference. There's no escaping it. Plan ahead and you can expect the unexpected, reap rewards, or admit your failures.

Keep Up With Progress

Be prepared. You should keep a folder, file, or portfolio of your child's work. Younger student's work is easier to maintain because teachers usually send that home in bulk. Older students may horde, destroy, or lose their paperwork. If you provide a designated spot for returned assignments, giving your child the responsibility, instruction, and tools to organize it, they will make a good attempt at it and get better over time. An expandable file folder, with tabs for individual courses, works extremely well for older students.

You should look over your child's work on a regular basis. Preferably, have your child present for discussion and feedback. The more informed you are, the better off you will be when it comes to conference time. Take note of strong points and shortcomings in their work.

Interact With Your Child

Find out how school is going. Ask questions about other students, who their friends are, and what kind of grades they get. Ask about the teachers, their teaching style, and why, (or why they don't) like them. Ask about their favorite and least favorite subjects. You may not get the most honest answers to some of your questions, but you will have reference points of discussion for the conference. You should take notes for your record and begin a list of questions to ask the teacher during the conference.

Questions for the Teacher:

Is this the right level of coursework for my child?

Is my child keeping up with, or holding back, the class?

Is my child having trouble with anything?

Is my child challenged enough?

What are my child's strong points? Weaknesses?

Are you concerned about learning disabilities, vision or hearing problems, or behavioral issues?

Should we look for tutoring? Test taking skill enhancement?

Does my child participate in class?

Does my child turn in his/her assignments on time?

How does my child interact with you and other students? Who are his/her friends? Has any friendship become a distraction?

How can I help my child at home to better succeed?

The Conference

Treat the conference as any interview, arrive on time, dress appropriately, introduce yourself, shake hands, and smile. Try to make arrangements for younger siblings so you will not be distracted.

Ask the teacher any questions you have prepared in order of importance. If answers are vague or unclear ask for an explanation. It is best to ask questions that require the teacher to think about their answers--don't ask yes or no questions.

Work with the teacher to develop a success plan for your child. Offer added contact information such as email and cell phone numbers for monitoring progress. Ask for a follow-up conference if necessary.

You Made It!

The conference was a success. You should send a thank you note to the teacher. Take time to discuss the conference with your child. Your child should be a party to this because it is, after all, about them. Discuss goals, plans, and strategies for their success and then implement them. Be sure to follow-up with your child and their teacher. Sometimes an additional conference with the student present is effective.

Sources:

About Our Kids (.org website), "Parent-Teacher Conferences: Working as a Team"
National Education Association (.org website), "How To Make Parent-Teacher Conferences Work for Your Child"