The Importance of Parent-Teacher Conferences

​As a parent or a grandparent today, your memory of a parent-teacher conference may involve a time when you got in trouble in school. In past generations, teachers used parent-teacher conferences as an opportunity to tell families that their children were in trouble or their children were falling behind in school. That is no longer the case. Now, parent-teacher conferences are used as one of the main communication methods between teachers and the family! They are a vital part of a successful education program. High quality early childhood education programs, with the assistance of parent-teacher conferences, invite families to actively take part in decision-making opportunities concerning their children’s education. Programs and families collaborate in establishing goals for children’s education and learning both at home and at school.
 
 
Conference Topics
 
            Many parents often ask what will be discussed at a parent-teacher conference for a young child.  Here are some of the topics that your child’s teacher may cover:
 

• Strengths and Favorable Traits
• Areas of Interest During the School Day
• Areas for Growth
• Curriculum to be Covered in the Upcoming Months
• Behavior Issues
• The Family’s Priorities for Development
• School-wide Events and Opportunities for the Family to be Involved

 
What to Ask at a Parent-Teacher Conference
 
            Although conferences may be limited in time, there are a few items that it is important to ask about when your family has individual time with the teacher. If the teacher does not cover these topics, here are a few things to ask about:
 

• Strengths and Weaknesses in the Classroom Setting
• Social Interactions Between Your Child and the Rest of the Classroom
• Classroom Expectations
• Further Suggestions for Enhancing Your Child’s Learning at Home

 
Concerns
 
            Occasionally families will be surprised by information that they receive in a conference because it does not match what they are seeing in the home environment. The major variable for children between the home and school environment is the social setting with numerous children. A child that does well when he or she has the family’s full attention at home (or even shares attention with one or two siblings) may show very different behavior when he or she must share attention with seven or more peers in the classroom setting. Parents do not need to be disheartened by this information. Teachers have a wide variety of resources that can assist your child in any area with which he or she is struggling. If a child is struggling with a mild issue, it could be as simple as the family and the classroom teachers collaborating to make sure they are addressing the situation the same in the home and the school environment. If the family has a greater concern, then the teacher can assist the family with starting the referral process with a pediatrician or local specialist for therapy support in the area of concern. The main goal is to make sure that each child is working to his or her full potential so that he or she will be as prepared as possible to enter Kindergarten.
 
Infants and Toddlers
 
Families frequently ask if it is still important to have a parent-teacher conference if the child is an infant or toddler.  It is just as essential (if not more so) to meet with the teachers when a child is in the infant room as when the child is in preschool.  The point of the conference is to share information between the teachers and the family.  During an infant/toddler conference, the following information needs to be shared:
 

• Feeding and sleeping schedules
• How the child prefers to be put to sleep
• What soothes the child
• The teacher’s assessment of developmental milestones
• The classroom routine
• How the teachers begin to implement early curriculum
• How the family can begin to be involved in school-wide events