of the child Parent/Teacher Conferences Problem solving
Information getting
Student work assessment (grading
conference) PREVENTIVE STRATEGIES FOR WORKING WITH PARENTS Find people in the community or at school who can translate
Offer clarifications proactively when confusion
might be possible
Label spaces in the classroom and school in
families’ home languages
Go out of your way to acknowledge parents
Preventive Strategies (con’t) Help parents understand expectations for student work
Adjustclassroom activities when
possible to respect families’ values/issues
Understandand work with extended
school absences.
Consider using a modified Morning
Meeting format at Back To School Night, particularly if you are doing Preventive Strategies for the First 6 Weeks of School Help parents feel welcomed and valued. Welcome parents to play an active role. Build community among parents Start early with a special parent conference - invite parents to share their hopes, dreams, goals for their child. Send out a family interest inventory Communicate about homework Remember the small daily interactions - find opportunities to connect. Steps in Planning and Conducting Parent Conference Formulate your message. Use familiar terms, not jargon. Avoid emotion-laden statements Describe specific circumstances and conditions of student performance, behavior. Use enabling phrases. Establish conference objective with parent by phone or letter.
Prepare data to share.
Decide on your opening statement. How will you
make the parent feel comfortable and receptive? Parent Conference (con’t) Check back with parents during and at end of conference.
Close by summarizing content of the
conference or ask parents to summarize what they understand.
Use a follow-up letter as needed.
Set a time to communication again, as
needed. Why do some parents resist involvement? Brainstorm in pairs for 2 minutes with a partner about possible reasons. Be ready to share with class. Parents may resist involvement at school because: Fear divulging family conflicts Panic over child’s possible failure Guilt over lack of parenting skills Reluctant to interfere in teacher’s work Belief that they would not know how to participate in school Illegal alien issues Past negative experiences as a student in school REMEMBER…
No matter what is said by the
parent, keep bringing the focus back to how you and the parent can help their child succeed. Mark Siegel Case Questions
Get in groups of 4 and discuss
questions you have received. Be ready to share with class.