Parent-teacher conference prep: a 15-minute checklist

Steps

1. A few days before: review recent grades, homework, tests and teacher messages in your school's portal or app.
2. Ask your child: How do you feel about school? What do you do well? What do you wish you had more help with?
3. Write your questions in order of importance, since slots are short. Good ones: Is my child meeting grade-level expectations? Can I see work where they did well and where they struggled? How are they doing socially? What can I do at home?
4. Note anything the teacher should know: interests, health issues, changes at home.
5. If you need an interpreter, ask the school ahead of time.
6. During: take notes, ask what terms or acronyms mean, and ask the best way to contact the teacher.
7. Before you leave: summarize the next steps out loud so you both agree.
8. After: send a short thank-you with any question you ran out of time for, and put follow-up dates on the family calendar.

If your child is struggling

Ask how the school measures progress, what support or services are available, and whether to set a check-in date. A conference is different from an IEP meeting; ask the school how to request an evaluation if you think your child needs one.

Sources

DC Public Schools: Parent-Teacher Conference Checklist (PDF) — https://dcps.dc.gov/sites/default/files/dc/sites/dcps/publication/attachments/English---Parent-Teacher-Conference-Tips-for-Families.pdf

NYC Public Schools: Parent-Teacher Conferences — https://www.schools.nyc.gov/get-involved/families/parent-teacher-conferences

Nemours KidsHealth: Parent-Teacher Conferences — https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/parent-teacher-conferences.html

Understood: Parent-teacher conferences toolkit — https://www.understood.org/en/topics/parent-teacher-conferences

Related

• October school-parent checklist
• Build one family school inbox in 20 minutes

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