Parent Teacher Conferences

Okay y’all it is October… For teachers everywhere, this month is busy with report cards, meetings, extra adjunct duties, observations, and PARENT TEACHER CONFERENCES. Honestly if I had more time in a day or a day off to prepare, I would love conferences. I do not love them when I am preparing for them or anxiously waiting to see how a conference will go, but I love when I get to build the relationship with the parents. To have a great conversation about where their child is is very helpful and makes it more comfortable if you have to call later on for any reason. So, I am here to help prepare and get the most out of your conference. Let’s get to it!

Grades

The first thing I do is input grades, so I have a current average. Make sure that you have your gradebook and any assessments that are helpful during your conversation. If it is an assessment that doesn’t help you, but you are required to have them take it, leave it out. Gather everything in one place and grab your student information that parents filled out at the beginning of the year, if you did them. Here is one that I use every year, if you want it

Student Information Sheets

Next, I reread the student information. This is so helpful at this time of year, once you have gotten to know your students. I really enjoy this part and to see what the parent’s perception is and their goals are for the year. This is really the backbone of how I start preparing. Concerns that the parent has, as well as strengths are a great way to get started! Here is the paper I used to fill out for each student. I made a copy once I finished it so that they parent had one and I could make notes if they had any questions, suggestions, or concerns.

Conference Forms

So, the conference form that I have first states areas of strengths. This is where that student information sheet comes in handy! I know you can probably list your own, but I think that it is impressive to say I know that you said that you feel like______ is a strength and I agree, I also see_______ as something that he/she does well in class. The same goes for areas to improve, which is the next box. I have in the past downloaded report card comments, and they are very specific and give you great ideas. Here is one that has lots of examples.

The next box has what we will work on in class. This is where I list 1 goal for the quarter. Something that I really believe that they can master by the end. I would never say, “We will work on reading.” That is too vague and duh of course we will. I would say, “My goal for _________ is to master blending cvc words to help with their fluency.” Choose 1 subject area so that they can see a clear target and you have one as well. Sometimes it can be very overwhelming when we are trying to do so much.

What To Work On At Home

After that it has what you can work on at home. I am a firm believer that kids work VERY hard all day and need a break when they get home. Don’t you feel the same way? After teaching all day do you want to come home to do more work, or would you rather watch some tv, read, spend time with your family? I bet I can guess your answer! Guess what? So do kids and so do parents. They have a look of relief when I say this. Spending time with family and unwinding is a great way to not get burnt out. I do put down a few things that they can do on the weekend or however they structure their day. I might put fact fluency, practice sight words, read the small group books that are sent home.

For students that need more challenging work I might put, make up your own ending to a story, start a chapter book together, have them make up math problems you have to solve, or have them cook with you and measure out the ingredients. These are all just suggestions and I try to tailor them to each student.

The last section is current grades. Most schools would show their report card at this time, but our school does conferences before report cards, so I like this section to have to show where they currently are.

This paper will keep your conference on track and is simple and to the point. Parents will get a lot out of it, and it won’t be overwhelming. At the end I try to share a story or ask them a question to get to know them better. I enjoy talking to them and want them to feel comfortable to ask/tell me whatever is on their mind.

Getting Ready for the Conference

After filling out the papers I have a few other things I use during the conference that I get ready.

• I have this sign I put on the door that is FREE on TPT. It is really cute and a nice way to end a current conference when you hear a knock on the door.
• I also send out reminders to those who signed up for conferences. Here is the paper I used. In the past, I have used signup.com and they send out reminders for you, but this year our district is requiring us to use ParentSquare.
• Once parents have signed up I used this to organize who and when they are coming. I like to have this out on my table to see who is next and check off who came.
• I put out this sign in sheet as well.

Now you are ready for conferences! I put my papers in order of my conferences and keep them in a cute folder. At my kidney table I put 2 adult chairs, the sign in sheet and my conference schedule. I make sure that my conference sign is on my door and I have my phone (timer) and something to drink. A colleague of mine put out a poster and I am for sure doing it next year! It said: Remember this, popcorn is prepared all in the same pot, in the same heat, in the same oil and yet… the kernels do not pop at the same time. Don’t compare your child to others. Their turn to pop is coming! What a great reminder to parents and to us not to compare ourselves to others.  Remember smile, customer service always, and enjoy it!