October Mentoring Tip: Parent Conferences

It is that time of the year when teachers are either preparing for or debriefing parent conferences. As a parent, the thing I remember most vividly about parent-teacher conferences is how silly I felt sitting in little-bitty primary-sized chairs. As a teacher, the thing I most regret is that I did not have students participate in those conferences so that they could see their parents and teachers as partners working together with them in their effort to learn at high levels. What a delight it would have been to have students present their own work for our review and accolades and, also, to see how the students and their parents interacted.

Despite the fact that beginning in the 1990s much in the literature has recommended student-led conferences, the norm is still a somewhat secretive process. Given that, the tips excerpted from Why Didn’t I Learn This in College? and featured in this Mentoring Memo focus on the traditional parent-teacher conference that does not include the student. I do agree that there are times when teacher and parent need to privately strategize about possible causes and solutions to issues interfering with learning so there are also two pages devoted to what to do when there is a problem. It does seem that in at least 80% of conferences, there is little said that would not be enhanced by have the student’s perspective represented.

Mentors can offer so much to novice teachers (and other colleagues) who struggle with planning for and leading parent conferences. Lessons learned from past experiences might be shared by a panel of mentors or other experienced teachers or novice teachers might submit their concerns and uncertainties anonymously to a “What Do You Do When… ?” box in the front office; those submissions could become the focus of brief discussions at team and department meetings.

For mentors and novice teachers alike, featured below are four sites that can support your efforts in include students in your next conferences.

Countrymanm Lyn Le and Merrie Schroeder. “When Students Lead Parent-Teacher Conferences.” Educational Leadership. Alexandria, VA: ASCD, April 1996. Access atwww.ascd.org/publications/educational_leadership/apr96/vol53/num07/...

Edudemic staff. “A Guide to Student-Led Conferences.” December 18, 2014. Access atwww.edudemic.com/guide-to-student-led-conferences/

Watson, Angela. “Tips for Holding Student-Led Conferences.” The Cornerstone. Access athttp://thecornerstoneforteachers.com/

Lenz, Bob. “Using Student-Led Parent-Teacher Conferences to Build Relationships.”  Edutopia. October 3, 2014. Access at www.edutopia.org/students-conferences .