Posted on October 26, 2009 by the Office of Teacher Development

Tips for Parent-Teacher Conferences

The "Working with Families" team called in to offer quick tips to help new and early career teachers prepare for and facilitate effective and meaningful Parent-Teacher Conferences. Some common themes carry across episodes, but each team member offers suggestions from his or her unique perspective. Listen in and share your own tips, questions or comments below.

» Hear the Parent-Teacher Conference Quick Tips
» Access other “Working with Families” Podcasts
» Meet the Team

PARENT-TEACHER CONFERENCE TIPS:

TIP SERIES: #1
TOPIC: “8 Tips for Successful Parent-Teacher Conferences”
FORMAT: Audio
DURATION: 11 min

Wynta K. Nivens-Wilburg offers eight tips for leading great Parent-Teacher conferences, informed by her roles as both a teacher and a mother of elementary school children. Through a series of candid, first-hand anecdotes, Wynta outlines key strategies for building relationships with families that support the success of each child. Tips include: planning for success; creating a print-rich environment; prioritizing what you want to say; using your notes while maintaining flexibility; keeping it simple and succinct; accentuating the positive; conducting appropriate follow-up; and making phone calls to parents with whom you did not meet. Don’t miss 8 tips in 11 minutes that will change the way you prepare for and lead Parent-Teacher conferences.

 

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TIP SERIES: #2
TOPIC: “Tips for Meaningful Dialogue and Follow-Up”
FORMAT: Audio
DURATION: 14 min

Renaté Jones shares a series of tips for preparing for Parent-Teacher conferences. She talks about: having all student data gathered for your meetings; prioritizing the most important areas for discussion with parents; creating note cards for each key topic you want to discuss with each child’s parents; alotting time for family members to ask questions of you; and beginning and ending on a positive note. She also offers some suggestions for good follow-up after your parent-teacher conferences, including what to include in your follow-up notes to each parent-teacher conference.

 

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TIP SERIES: #3
TOPIC: “Making Families Feel at Ease, Being Prepared and Other Quick Tips”
FORMAT: Audio
DURATION: 14 min 50 sec

Carlo DeGregorio shares several tips for preparing for Parent-Teacher conferences. He discusses several ways a teacher can help families feel at ease and comfortable, including making plans to have access to an interpreter if needed, and asking families about their own expectations of you as a teacher, so you can begin by addressing their needs first. Carlo also describes having a private area in the classroom designated for families to sit with you during their conference, but also having an area for parents to talk with other families while they wait for their conversation with you. Also discussed are tips for planning out what you want to discuss with each family, and the order in which you wish to cover each topic, and how best to organize your notes for each parent meeting. Carlo covers the important issues of privacy and confidentiality, and having up to date contact sheets for each child.

 

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