Making Parent Teacher Conferences Meaningful

Are You….....

• Tired of always talking about grades at parent/teacher conferences? 

• Tired of feeling like nothing is ever accomplished during the allotted time? 

• Are you having problems with a student, but don’t know how to tell the parents? 

• Do you want to be specific and to-the-point? 

When I taught middle school and/or high school, these were the items that really discouraged me. I knew I had to come up with a better plan if I wanted parent/teacher conferences to be worthwhile and effective for both the student and the parents. I created a a checklist that I could follow, use during conferences, and then give a copy to the parents at the end of the conference.  It contained nine, brief, succinct checklists which were written as a guide so that during conferences I could have specific items to talk about besides grades. I found it easy to complete and straight forward plus it provided me with a simple outline to use as I talked and shared with parents.

Since other teachers were able to use it successfully, I took that checklist and turned it into a resource called Parent/Teacher Conference Checklist, Based on Student Characteristics and Not Grades. Nine different categories are listed for discussion.  They include:

1. Study Skills and Organization 
2. Response to Assignments 
3. In Class Discussion 
4. Class Attitude 
5. Reaction to Setbacks 
6. Accountability 
7. Written Work 
8. Inquiry Skills 
9. Evidence of Intellectual Ability 

To get ready for conferences, all you have to do is place a check mark by each item within the category that applies to the student. Then circle the word that best describes the student in that category such as "always, usually, seldom". (See example above.)

$2.00

Finally, make a copy of the checklist so that the parent(s) or the guardian(s) will have something to review with their student when they return home.

Now you are ready for a meaningful and significant conference.