{"id":28041,"date":"2018-11-06T12:15:53","date_gmt":"2018-11-06T17:15:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.backtobasicslearning.com\/?p=28041"},"modified":"2018-11-11T12:21:00","modified_gmt":"2018-11-11T17:21:00","slug":"preparation-is-key-for-parent-teacher-conference-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/backtobasicslearning.com\/preparation-is-key-for-parent-teacher-conference-success\/","title":{"rendered":"Preparation is key for parent-teacher conference success"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><b>It\u2019s that time of year. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Many schools have scheduled fall parent-teacher conferences as the midpoint or end of the schools\u2019 first marking period approaches. These meetings with your child\u2019s teachers are a vital opportunity to build the team that supports each student\u2014 and yet most conferences are scheduled in blocks of 30 minutes or less! <strong><em>Planning ahead for the parent-teacher conference can help you to make the most of the experience.<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Remember that you are the expert on your child, while the teacher is the expert on teaching. The best outcome of a parent-teacher conference is enhanced collaboration on the team that supports your child. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Back to Basics wants to be part of that team!<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> One of our specialties is great communication with your child\u2019s teacher. <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/backtobasicslearning.com\/contact-information\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Contact us<\/a> to learn about the ways we can help.<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">[sawarp color=&#8221;blue&#8221;][sawcon title=&#8221;<strong>Before the conference<\/strong>&#8220;]<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Review any information the teacher has shared about the curriculum, teaching methods, and assessment practices for the class.<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> You may have heard it from your own teachers or professors, but the advice \u201cRead the syllabus\u201d holds just as true for your child\u2019s classes. Knowing the how and why of your child\u2019s courses will help you to formulate good questions.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Gather as much information as you can, based on information your child has brought home so far. <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This information can include report cards or progress reports, work your child has brought home, comments your child\u2019s teacher has shared regarding assigned work, or a printout of your child\u2019s gradebook if it\u2019s posted online.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><b>Discuss school with your child. <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Of course, you\u2019ll want to talk about grades, but you should also ask about how they get along with classmates, what the day-to-day experience is like in the classroom, and any concerns they might have. Asking what your child thinks are the most important points to cover at the conference can provide some great points for discussion.<\/span><\/b><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Prepare whether your child is doing poorly, or whether they are doing well.<\/strong> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If your child is struggling in class, your preparation can help you to ask specific questions about why, and you can all work together to improve performance and outcomes. If your child is doing well in class, plan to use the conference time to ask about ways you can support their strengths, or to explore extended learning or enrichment opportunities, such as clubs or interest groups.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong>Organize and prioritize.<\/strong> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Spend some time ahead of the conference to select the most important points to discuss\u2014 the most critical topics you want to hit before \u2018time\u2019s up.\u2019 Put these on paper. If there\u2019s a long list, you may want to reach out to your child\u2019s teacher via email or phone before the conference to compare notes, or schedule some additional time before or after the official meeting. \u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">[\/sawcon]<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">[sawcon title=&#8221;<b>At the conference<\/b>&#8220;]<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Arrive early. <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Conferences are usually on a tight schedule. By arriving a few minutes early, you\u2019ll ensure that you can make the most of the time available to you.<\/span><\/b><\/li>\n<li><strong>Lead with a positive.<\/strong> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Make sure the team that supports your child starts on the best possible note by leading with a compliment or expression of appreciation. Share something that you or your child has noted is going well\u2014 \u2018He loves being able to choose his own books,\u2019 or \u2018I really appreciated the notes you shared in your progress update.\u2019 <\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong>Address concerns respectfully.<\/strong> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Your conversation should be a give-and-take exchange. Give the teacher a chance to respond to items on your priority list, and make sure to listen to to the teacher\u2019s concerns, too. Take careful note of the strategies recommended by the teacher.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><strong>Establish the communication protocol.<\/strong> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ask the teacher how they like to communicate, and how often\u2014whether by e-mail, phone calls, or notes passed home with assignments. Let the teacher know how important good communication about your child\u2019s progress is for your team. <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">[\/sawcon]<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">[sawcon title=&#8221;<b>After the conference<\/b>&#8220;]<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Discuss the meeting with your child. <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Whether or not your child attended the conference, take some time on the same day, or shortly after, to discuss the problems and solutions that were covered.<\/span><\/b><\/li>\n<li><strong>Follow up.<\/strong> <span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If your team agreed that something needs to be addressed with your child, take steps to put the plan in motion.\u00a0Whether it&#8217;s subject tutoring, work on study skills, educational consulting, psycho-educational evaluation, or extra support so they can achieve their best, <a href=\"https:\/\/backtobasicslearning.com\/contact-information\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">we can help<\/a>.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">[\/sawcon][\/sawarp]\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>MORE TIPS:<\/strong>\u00a0<em><a href=\"https:\/\/globalfrp.org\/Articles\/Parent-Teacher-Conferences-Strategies-for-Principals-Teachers-and-Parents\">Check out this great tip sheet of conference strategies for principals, teachers, and parents from the Global Family Research Project<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<h3><strong>If your child needs educational help in any subject, <a href=\"https:\/\/backtobasicslearning.com\/contact-information\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Back to Basics\u00a0is the only call you need to make<\/a>.<\/strong><\/h3>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Planning ahead for the parent-teacher conference can help you to make the most of the experience.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":28048,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[39,40,1323],"tags":[1035,1041,1193,574,553,627,472,501,400,10,1195,1298,452,124,719,718,448,1320,13],"class_list":["post-28041","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-for-parents","category-for-students","category-resources","tag-1-tutoring-wilmington-delaware","tag-1-on-1-tutoring-19803-19801-19810-19807-19808-19707-19711-19703","tag-1-on-1-tutoring-delaware","tag-11-tutoring","tag-11-tutoring-delaware","tag-11-tutoring-wilmington-delaware","tag-award-winning-educational-center","tag-award-winning-tutoring-facility-delaware","tag-back-to-basics-k-12-private-school","tag-back-to-basics-learning-dynamics","tag-back-to-basics-learning-dynamics-inc","tag-back-to-basics-delaware","tag-delaware-tutoring","tag-education","tag-newark-delaware-1-on-1-tutoring","tag-newark-delaware-11-tutoring","tag-one-on-one-tutoring-delaware","tag-parent-teacher-conferences","tag-tutoring"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/backtobasicslearning.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28041","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/backtobasicslearning.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/backtobasicslearning.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/backtobasicslearning.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/backtobasicslearning.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28041"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/backtobasicslearning.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28041\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28049,"href":"https:\/\/backtobasicslearning.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28041\/revisions\/28049"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/backtobasicslearning.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28048"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/backtobasicslearning.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28041"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/backtobasicslearning.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28041"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/backtobasicslearning.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28041"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}