Wednesday, October 21, 2015

10 Parent Conference Dos and Don'ts

Parent conferences is a time to report the progress of your students to the adults that know them best.  The time allotted for these conversations is often short, which makes it very important to be prepared and stay focused.  This list will help you to avoid many of the traps you may fall in to that can derail your parent conferences
  • Do everything you can to make parents feel comfortable, they are probably more nervous than you are 
  • Don't compare the student to other children or siblings you may have had in the past
  • Do tell the parents how you plan to help the student meet and exceed their goals and document your plans
  • Don't become defensive or take it personally if there are disagreements
  • Do share as much relevant information you can in the amount of time you have including data, work samples, anecdotal evidence, and test results
  • Don't make any speculations or diagnosis that you are not qualified to make
  • Do adjust your style and delivery to meet the needs of the parents you are speaking with
  • Don't downplay any concerns you or the parents have, this is the opportunity to create a plan to address them
  • Do respect the confidentiality of these very private conversations
  • Don't comment on or speak for other colleagues that work with the child or may have taught them in the past