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Tips for Successful Parent /Teacher Conferences
Parents play a vital role in the educational development of their
children. Meeting regularly with teachers can help develop a
supportive learning environment. A good plan can help prepare
parents and teachers for a productive meeting.
- Write notes before the meeting. What topics do you want to cover? What questions do you have? See the list to below for some suggestions.
- Ask your child what they would like you to talk about with their teachers. What needs or concerns does your child have?
- Arrive on time, these meetings are usually back-to-back and if you expect to get through your list without frustrating the parent who follows, you should use only your allotted time.
Notify the teacher if you cannot attend the conference at the scheduled time. Take the initiative to reschedule the conference.
- Start positively by telling the teacher what your child enjoys most in school.
- Ask for an explanation if the teacher uses terms you don’t understand.
- Stay calm during the meeting. Parents and teachers need to listen to each other and work together to develop the best educational opportunities for students.
- Create a plan of action together. Outline the responsibilities of teachers, parents and the student.
- Find out specific ways you can help your child succeed in school.
- What types of activities can you do at home to promote learning?
- What resources are available?
- Follow-up with your child after the meeting. Talk about what was discussed and give your child an active part in his/her educational success.
- Act quickly on any suggestions made by the teacher (i.e., schedule an eye appointment if needed, go to the library to get any books the child needs).
- Engage your child in learning activities outside of school.
| POSSIBLE CONFERENCE QUESTIONS |
A list of questions, with the most important issues on top, can help you cover everything you want to discuss. Here are some things you may want to ask your child’s teachers.
- What are they studying this year? What knowledge and skills is my child expected to learn?
- How will my child be evaluated? How are grades determined? What will the report card look like?
- Please show me examples of my child’s work and examples of excellent, good and satisfactory work.
- What expectations do you have for children in your class? What are the homework expectations?
- Does my child seem to be doing his/her best?
- What do you do to accommodate individual differences among children?
- Can you describe what he/she is like during the school day? Is there a particular moment or incident that “sums up” what my child is like at school?
- Has anything happened that I should know about? Have you seen any changes in behavior that we should check into?
- Does my child need special help with anything? Do you see any early signs of possible learning difficulties that we should keep an eye on? What kind of programs are available to help my child?
- How is my child doing socially? How easily does my child make friends? Find playmates in class?
- What can I do to continue the learning process at home? Are there toys or books to help with my child’s particular developmental issues?
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