The season for parent-teacher conferences is here! These meetings are great times to get to know your child’s teacher, to ask questions about what and how your child is doing in school, and to talk with the teacher about volunteer opportunities in the classroom.
What should you bring to a parent-teacher conference?
Questions. If you are headed to your parent-teacher conference, some of the most important things to bring are your questions. You probably want to know how your child is doing both academically and socially. You may also want to know if your teacher has any concerns about your child’s academics or social behaviors. Chances are that he or she will tell you but if there are specific questions that do not get answered, do not hesitate to ask.
Background information. You may also want to tell the teacher about anything about your child that it might help the teacher to know. For example, if your child is very shy but will answer questions if the teacher calls on her, this could help the teacher understand how to help your child participate in class. Or if there are techniques that other teachers or caregivers have used in the past that work well with your child, you can let the teacher know.
Your child? Often the parent-teacher conference is an opportunity for teachers to speak with you one-on-one so it can be distracting to have your child in the room. If you can’t make other arrangements and have to bring your child, bring books or an activity to keep her occupied while you talk with the teacher An exception to this is when teachers utilize student-led conferences. During these conferences, your child will talk about what he has been doing in class and how he feels about his progress. He is also likely to show you some of his work so far. The teacher should let you know if your child should come with you to the conference.
What if the teacher says that my child is having difficulties?
It can be difficult to hear that your child might need some extra help in academic or behavioral areas. But this can be a great time to find out more about any difficulties that your child is having and how you can work with the teacher to help improve these. Remember that you and the teacher both want the best for your child. So even though it can be hard to talk about these things, there are some questions that you can ask to understand the issues better such as: “Can you tell more about what is happening?”, “When is s/he showing the most difficulties?”, “Are there things that I can do at home to help with the situation at school?”.
This process can take time. So if you don’t feel like there is enough time at this first meeting to absorb all of the information and get to problem-solving, set up another time to follow-up with the teacher. Or if you and the teacher have come up with several things to try at home and at school, you may want to set up another meeting to check in and see how things are going.
What if I need accommodations such as an interpreter?
Some parents will need accommodations at the conferences. You may need an interpreter or perhaps you would like to bring another family member friend to help you remember what is said. Let your teacher know in advance if you need these accommodations so that they can prepare. That will help the conference go more smoothly.
Overall, parent-teacher conferences provide an important opportunity to sit down with another person in your child’s life who sees her almost every day and is a partner in her learning process. This is a time to focus on your child and how he is doing in the classroom as well as a time to make sure that he has all the resources he needs to succeed. This is also a great time to let the teacher know if you would like to help out in the classroom or around the school. So go prepared to ask questions but also to listen and to work with your child’s teacher to make the school experience the best it can be for your child.
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