Re By M.

Here are a few things that I do.

1. A few weeks before confrences, a sheet goes home and the parents sign up for the date and time that they like. They put down 3 choices for sure, and we try to match one of those

for confrences. 2. On my own, I send home a sheet that has questions. The parents fill this out, sign it, and return it to school with their child. The questions are things like where they think I can improve, what they like about the school year thus far, what they don't like, how they feel about their child's progress, any issues that they would like to discuss at confrences,

etc. This helps me know what they are expecting of me at confrences and what they would like to talk about. I have the sheet with me at confrences, and we usually go right down the line. This is especially helpful because if parents forget something, it's on the sheet and we can still address it. The students also have one that they fill out in class. I go over these with their parents.

3. My school has parent-teacher confrences, however, I feel that it is important for the child to be their at least part of the time. I leave this option open...it's up to each individual family. There are options are just a parent-teacher confrence, a parent-teacher-student confrence, or a partial parent-teacher-student and a parent-teacher confrence. When it's split, the family picks which one they want first. I usually try to stay out of the decision-making process when it comes to this; however, if I feel strongly about one way over another, I will make a reccomendation privately with the parents prior to confrences, but I do not require them to follow my reccomendation.

4. Parents wait out in the hall for their appointment. Confrences are limited to 15-20 minutes (it varies by year). In the hall, I have board games, pictures, and usually some snacks. The board games keep younger siblings and students busy while waiting and the pcitures are pictures taken throughout the year of the students. A few times, I put out paper and crayons for the students and siblings to draw/color while they waited.

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