In honor of Parent-Teacher Conferences this week, I wanted to share part of an ASCD article to help everyone get pumped up and ready for this important evening! Parent-Teacher Conferences are a great opportunity to get to know your students, develop relationships with parents and help make families feel comfortable about school. Here are a few helpful tips to remember:
Offer conversation starters. Put parents (and yourself) at ease with a question or two: "What did Sam like about school last year?," "What does Tina like to do at home?," or "What are some things you'd like her to accomplish this year?"
Offer conversation starters. Put parents (and yourself) at ease with a question or two: "What did Sam like about school last year?," "What does Tina like to do at home?," or "What are some things you'd like her to accomplish this year?"
Invite parents to share their thoughts. As experts on their children, parents can share valuable insights. And they'll appreciate your respectful recognition of their role in helping their children.
Highlight the positives. Recognize a child's strengths before discussing her struggles. You'll give parents some perspective while encouraging them to work productively with you.
Address just one or two concerns. Listing too many problems can make parents (and their children) feel defeated. Mention that you'd like to help the student with several things, but for now you'd like to concentrate on just one or two.
Let parents know if you need thinking time. It's perfectly OK to tell parents you want to think through what they've said, observe their children for a bit, consult others, or read up on an issue they've raised.
Be Prepared for Surprises
Parents sometimes surprise us with negative or personal questions or comments: "My son's teacher bullied him all last year." "My daughter's lazy. She never tries at anything." "My husband doesn't care about Mark. He never comes to these conferences." "My wife's divorcing me. Things are falling apart."
What can you do in such an instance?
- Steer the conversation back to positives: "I'm sorry things didn't go well for Adam last year. But because our time is limited, I'd like to focus on what we can accomplish this year if we work together."
- Focus on the child: "You seem to be going through some tough stuff right now. I wonder if that's taking Jasmine's attention away from school. What do you think we might do to help her concentrate?"
- Listen with empathy: "That must be hard" or "You've been through a lot" can help parents feel heard without injecting your own opinion or advice.
- Offer to get help: "You seem to be wondering what to do next. Our school counselor may have some ideas for you."
At the end of the day, it is important that we instill a trusting, caring relationship with our parents and let them know we believe in their children. Thanks to all of your for making Perry Central a warm and welcoming environment for our Commodore Community!
ASCD Article (You can find the entire ASCD Article here for a few more tips.)
Important Information:
Parent-Teacher Conferences - Just a reminder about Parent-Teacher Conferences this week from 1:00 - 7:00 p.m. We will not be making any bell schedule changes. Thank you for reaching out to families. Building relationships is the best tool we have! (Remember, if you get into a conversation that is uncomfortable, please either use the intercom system to call the office or ask the parent to meet with Phil or I in our office. This doesn't happen very often, but it is always good to have a plan!) Thank you to everyone who sent me names as well. We will be reaching out to these families.
RTI Team Meeting - If you are on the RTI Team (the team that met last month), we will have a meeting on Thursday, September 19th at 7:20 a.m. in the high school library. It will be a great morning to follow up with notes from Parent-Teacher Conferences. Teachers, please feel free to share information that you may think is helpful.
AR Meeting - This Thursday, we have several Annual Review meetings for special education students. Thank you to all of the teachers who will be helping to serve on these teams.
Faculty Meeting - We will have a faculty meeting this Tuesday at 7:20 a.m. in the high school library. A light breakfast will be served! See you there!
Block Out Cancer - Next Tuesday, September 24th will be the "Block Out Cancer" night at the volleyball game. Teachers are invited to wear volleyball t-shirts, Carson strong t-shirts or the color yellow to support the cause. Donations of $5 will be taken in the high school office for teachers to wear jeans that day. All money will be donated to Carson Lasher's family. We hope to get some great pictures to send to the family! (Carson is a PC 6th grade student that is fighting a rare form of stage 4 cancer.)
Farm To Table - FFA members will be participating in the Perry County Farm to Table event this Saturday in Tell City. They will be preparing and serving a meal that consists of all locally grown products. It is a great celebration of community and agriculture. They have also been teaching Tell City's Culinary Art's class how to shuck, blanch and prepare fresh sweet corn! Thanks to Carrie Guillaume for leading this partnership. We are always proud of our students!
Important Dates:
Tuesday, September 17 - Faculty Meeting 7:20 a.m.
Wednesday, September 18 - Math Team Meeting (AM)
Thursday, September 19 - RTI Meeting 7:20 a.m.
Parent-Teacher Conferences - Just a reminder about Parent-Teacher Conferences this week from 1:00 - 7:00 p.m. We will not be making any bell schedule changes. Thank you for reaching out to families. Building relationships is the best tool we have! (Remember, if you get into a conversation that is uncomfortable, please either use the intercom system to call the office or ask the parent to meet with Phil or I in our office. This doesn't happen very often, but it is always good to have a plan!) Thank you to everyone who sent me names as well. We will be reaching out to these families.
RTI Team Meeting - If you are on the RTI Team (the team that met last month), we will have a meeting on Thursday, September 19th at 7:20 a.m. in the high school library. It will be a great morning to follow up with notes from Parent-Teacher Conferences. Teachers, please feel free to share information that you may think is helpful.
AR Meeting - This Thursday, we have several Annual Review meetings for special education students. Thank you to all of the teachers who will be helping to serve on these teams.
Faculty Meeting - We will have a faculty meeting this Tuesday at 7:20 a.m. in the high school library. A light breakfast will be served! See you there!
Block Out Cancer - Next Tuesday, September 24th will be the "Block Out Cancer" night at the volleyball game. Teachers are invited to wear volleyball t-shirts, Carson strong t-shirts or the color yellow to support the cause. Donations of $5 will be taken in the high school office for teachers to wear jeans that day. All money will be donated to Carson Lasher's family. We hope to get some great pictures to send to the family! (Carson is a PC 6th grade student that is fighting a rare form of stage 4 cancer.)
Farm To Table - FFA members will be participating in the Perry County Farm to Table event this Saturday in Tell City. They will be preparing and serving a meal that consists of all locally grown products. It is a great celebration of community and agriculture. They have also been teaching Tell City's Culinary Art's class how to shuck, blanch and prepare fresh sweet corn! Thanks to Carrie Guillaume for leading this partnership. We are always proud of our students!
Important Dates:
Tuesday, September 17 - Faculty Meeting 7:20 a.m.
Wednesday, September 18 - Math Team Meeting (AM)
Thursday, September 19 - RTI Meeting 7:20 a.m.
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