BUILDING FUNDAMENTALS: PARENT TEACHER CONFERENCES

For teachers, conferences are both something to look forward to and something that we dread. They are necessary so that we can talk to parents about their students progress in class. They are difficult because those conversations can be hard, awkward, and sometimes confrontational. At the secondary level it is also a struggle to get parents to come to parent-teacher conferences at all. It can start to feel like a waste of time when there can be so much preparation involved.

Both of us (Danielle and Becca) have conferences this week and we assume that they are fast approaching for others as well.  Maybe you are a first time teacher or maybe you just continue to be on the struggle bus with conferences. Either way, here are our thoughts and ideas about have successful parent teacher conferences.

To start, many schools are different in their opinion of how to structure conferences. Some schools want students to be there and have student-led conferences and some would say it should be just parents and teachers present for conferences. Is it open house style or do you need to schedule times with specific parents? What materials do you need to have ready for parents who do attend?

The best conferences I (Danielle) have ever participated in were the conferences my building did when I taught middle school. I taught at a true middle school where we had two 6th grade teams. Every teacher had a homeroom/advisory class. When it came to conferences we would schedule conferences with the parents of our homeroom class. The school scheduled one day after school for conferences and then on the next day the students did not have school and we were there until 4 but we were open all day for conferencing appointments. We scheduled an appointment with those 20-25 parents of students in our homeroom. Then my 6th grade team would meet and discuss which conferences we wanted to have as a team. If there was a student that really struggled or had specific behavior issues, we would all block out that time slot to have a team conference with that parent and student which was student-led.
 
​In the weeks leading up to conferences, we would take time in homeroom to organize a portfolio of work from each class and the students would write reflections on their work that they would go over with their parents during the conference. I would discuss any issues that had been brought to my attention by the other teachers and answer any questions I could. If the parent wanted to talk to a specific teacher, then they could also schedule time for that during conferences as well but the main responsibility was for the homeroom teachers and meeting a different teacher was more of a special case.  When we did it this way, I felt really supported since I had my team and a lot of preparation ahead of time. The responsibility was really on the students because they were leading the conference and they knew what issues they were going to have to talk about with their parents.

I (Becca) have not had experience with scheduling conferences, though that sounds like it may make it more worth the time! I try to have some candy available as well as a folder for each student containing student work and some student reflection. As parents arrive, I offer candy, ask them to sign in, and show them student work along with their grade. Most of the time the student is not with them. I explain how the grade is calculated, how their student behaves and performs in class, and how they could get better. I express any concerns I may have and check for questions. With any time left (many times the parent is trying to get around the building to see 6 other teachers and may be in a hurry), I make sure they understand our LMS so that they can have as much information about their student’s grades and attendance as possible!

The few times that the student is with them, I always include the student in the conversation. I have found that students are much more likely to say what they may need to be successful while sitting one on one with a parent present. While many would not pull you aside in class and tell you then need help being reminded what to do or would like more examples, they might in a conference setting! I have seen many students take some responsibility when I can tell both them and their parents what I think their strengths are. If their grades are not correlating well with their ability, they more often than not will take responsibility for their part. I would much rather have that conversation than just talk to a parent about what their student communicates to them versus what they communicate to me. Again, those are rare occasions for me, to have students present.

When it comes to conferences and if your district is considering any changes to your conference procedure, I would suggest the following:

• Student-led. When students lead conferences there is some investment from the students on conference. It also allows and sometimes forces the student to show ownership for what they have or haven’t done in the classroom. It is always good to hear from the student perspective how things are going.
• Scheduling Conferences. If you are a school that has a homeroom or advisory type class, scheduling conferences with those parents could increase overall attendance to parent-teacher conferences. It could also free you up to focus on those conferences and then attempt to schedule conferences with other students that you really need to see.
• Team conferences. If you have teaming or a structure where teachers have the same students, you might consider having team conferences when needed for students that are really struggling or have a particular behavior issue. The key is to view this session as a problem-solving session of how to help the student be successful and not let the student play teacher off teacher.

If you don’t have control over your structure of conferences, try to find ways to work within your system.

• Make sure you have a sign-in page. It is nice to keep track of who you talked to and get up-to-date contact information.
• Have handouts of any really important information. You may even use the same types of handouts you had available for open house. There is a good chance you will see a lot of the same parents, but it is always good to have those essential handouts available.
• Maybe have candy or mints for the kids and parents to sweeten the conference.
• Consider having students create a portfolio to share during conferences. It can be something basic or even some kind of reflection that they write that you can share with parents when they come to conferences.
• Make it an event. Make a game out of it or have some kind of challenge that could be done during the conference to liven it up. I would suggest that you do not make attending PT Conferences extra credit or worth any part of their grade. There are some cultures where students have no chance of getting that extra credit and it will only set your rapport with them back for not understanding where they are coming from personally.
• If you feel like you need support, it is ok to ask for it! Talk to other teachers or your administrators for help!
• Use this as a time to build community within your building by playing a game amongst the teachers during conferences like Parent-Teacher Conferences Bingo! You would have a board either electronic or a traditional paper board and play it during your conferences. You could have prizes for the number of Bingos achieved during conferences. It is a nice way to build some community, de-stress, and in some cases liven up a potentially stressful event. Check out our Bingo Board on our TPT store!