PARENT-TEACHER
CONFIDENCE 4 Cs FOR A SUCCESSFUL
CONFERENCE BY MICHELLE BLANCHARD ARDILLO
A round the same time that
the pumpkin- avored coff ee
drinks appear in your local
coff ee shop, another annual event will
take place that may send you reeling
like a triple shot of espresso. Yes, it’s
almost that time of the year: parent-
teacher conferences. Your child means
the world to you, so meeting face to
face with the person who spends as
many or more waking hours of the
day as you do with your child can be
daunting. Att ending a parent-teacher conference
does not need to be stressful or
confrontational. With some basic
tips, communicating with your
child’s teacher can be a fulfi lling
and benefi cial means to a successful
academic year for your child. ust
remember the 4 Cs for a successful
conference. 1. BE CIVIL: If today’s political climate
in our country has taught us anything,
it’s that we need to step back and
remember how to be civil, even in the
face of our diff erences. Your child’s
teacher is a professional educator who
wants the same thing as you
for your child to have a successful year.

Work as a team towards that goal. Be
kind. Be positive. Be professional. If
necessary, request the school counselor
or an administrator to sit in on the
conference. 2. ALWAYS COMMUNICATE: While
email is effi cient and expedient,
it’s also faceless and easily open to
misinterpretation. When writing
an email to your child’s teacher, be
mindful that your words may be read
by someone who taught all morning,
had a fi ve-minute lunch break before
going out for recess duty, and then
taught again all afternoon. They’re
most likely ending their day with a
screen full of emails to answer, papers
to grade, lessons to plan and bulletin
boards to decorate. Start and end
your emails with pleasant comments,
and ask for a phone call or a short
meeting to discuss anything serious.

Don’t go over the teacher’s head with
issues unless you have discussed them
together fi rst.

3. CARING IS SHARING: Your child’s
teacher needs to know when things at
home may interfere with performance
in the classroom. Is there a new baby
on the way or already at home taking
more of Mom’s att ention? Have
fi nancial issues changed what after-
school activities they can join? Did
your child’s best friend change schools
and now there is no one to hang
out with at recess? Are there social
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issues at school such as bullying or
being left off of a party invitation list?
Communicating this to teachers will
help them be on the lookout for your
child and ease some of the tensions
they’ re facing. Teachers can be your
best advocates.

R It’s important
to be involved in your children’s work.

This does not mean doing their math
homework or writing their English
essay. But do spend a few minutes
daily talking about their school day.

Avoid yes/no questions. Ask instead,
Which problem was the most diffi cult
on the math test? or What sport are
you playing in PE this week? Once a
week, go through their backpack and
review returned graded work, look
over their note-taking skills and read a
chapter of a textbook together. You can
discuss with your child’ s teacher other
ways to be more involved at home.

Most public school systems address
parent-teacher conferences on their
websites, off ering tips for parents to
have more successful communications
with the faculty.

ontgomery County
Public Schools (MCPS), the largest
public school district in Maryland,
has a two-page yer on its website
about preparing for parent-teacher
conferences, along with a list of
questions to ask teachers. MCPS
advises, When parents and teachers
talk with each other, each person can
share important information about the
child’s academic progress, talents and
needs. Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS),
the largest public school district in
Virginia, also devotes a page of its
website to outlining various levels and
methods of communication between
parents and teachers. FCPS states, The
purpose of a parent-teacher conference
is to develop a mutual understanding
of various aspects of the student’s
progress and to encourage cooperative
planning toward eff ective solutions of
problems that may exist.

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