If there’s anything that can be a slog, it’s that wonderful day when teachers and parents enjoy meeting each other one-on-one. I’m talking about parent-teacher conferences, of course, that special time when you get to see fully grown adults balance themselves on your students’ tiny chairs
But while the parents struggle to maintain their balance in a chair barely able to contain them, are they also struggling to understand what you’re saying? Contemporary elementary education is a minefield of acronyms and educator-speak. IEP to AMO to RTI to MSL to STEM to AYP to Title I, III, or IX—you have a hard enough time keeping up with it; what about parents?
Furthermore, many would agree that the parents who come to conferences are often the ones teachers worry least about meeting. When teachers have a student who is struggling, it is his or her parents we most want to meet and who are often least likely to show up.
How do you measure the success of parent-teacher conferences? Do you feel that you keep teacher jargon to a minimum and succinctly cover everything you want with parents? We’re looking for your tips and suggestions for achieving effective parent-teacher conferences. Leave yours in the comments.
We have hosted Student Led Conferences for more then 15 years. We do this K-12. It looks different at each level. The students show their work and their goals, then the teacher joins. In Middle School, we hosted this in the gym with coffee and snacks. We did this so all teachers could drop by each student conference. It is wonderful to watch the students sharing with their parents.
If there are major issues, another conference is scheduled.