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Increased electronic communication can minimize the need and sense of urgency for Parent/Teacher conferences. Despite the potential for these electronic channels there is still a need for face-to-face communication. Parents should be invited to conferences with teachers two to four times per year.
These conferences are most successful when they are formative (how has the student done, what is upcoming, and what the student needs to do) as opposed to summative conferences (here is what they did to deserve that grade). An effort should be made to accommodate parents by scheduling individual conferences with teachers. This will require parents to call the school to schedule appointments. This service-oriented approach can send a powerful message to parents about the school desire to work with parents as partners in their son or daughter’s education.
The purpose of a formative conference is to anticipate and to look ahead at what can be done to avoid problems. It involves parents in the solution rather than putting the parent in a position of having only a reaction option. The staff should be asked to keep these conferences to ten minutes each. Teachers should be compensated for these evenings, generally in the form of traded days in the contract. |
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