The Dynamics of Home-School Relationships

School Administrator, Nov, 1995 by Steven W. Enoch

How District Leaders Can Improve the Quality of Parent-Teacher Conferences

As a principal and a superintendent, I have observed that many teachers lack training to conduct effective parent-teacher conferences. Wonderful teachers who are able to inspire students on a daily basis often seem meek and ill prepared in these most important meetings with parents.

What's missing from most teacher training programs is any significant attention to how to get parents to support teachers and how to conduct powerful and meaningful conferences with parents.

It becomes our responsibility as school leaders to train, observe, and coach our teachers in this critical communication opportunity. If we expect parents to be educational partners with us, then teachers must be skilled, confident, and effective communicators during parent-teacher conferences.

Teachers are experts in observing student development. They have an innate ability to find and share positive attributes about every child. They also know when good reason exists to be concerned and they know what parents need to do to help their children academically.

Yet many teachers seem uncertain and tentative during parent-teacher conferences. A common problem, beyond the lack of proper training, is that teachers with weak administrative support quickly learn never to confront parents about incomplete or missing home partnerships. Administrators and school districts have been negligent in empowering teachers to be the confident experts we desperately need in public education.

Nine Strategies

To assist teachers in the parent-teacher conference process, I have developed the following framework of nine essential elements that can significantly increase the value of the conference for both parents and teachers.

* No. 1: Identify strengths and weaknesses in the areas of reading, writing, listening; and speaking.

Being able to speak publicly, write effectively, listen thoughtfully, and read fluently are essential communication skills needed for success in school, as well as for self-esteem and competence as an adult. As educators we know that language development is the best predictor of school success. All teachers, at all grade levels, of all subjects are language arts teachers.

No parent-teacher conference is complete without serious discussion about these language skills. All these skills (not just reading) must be reviewed and evaluated during every parent-teacher conference. Teachers must not hesitate to alert parents if problems in language development exist and advise them as to the serious ramifications if these shortcomings are not corrected.

* No. 2: Establish a clear understanding of academic areas where the student is progressing and any areas where the student is not making adequate progress.

The key to this element, and indeed to the value of the conference, is the word "progress." The degree of progress is at least equal in importance to a grade or mark on a report card.

We know that every child develops at a different rate. Whether a students is "above grade level" or "below grade level," the amount of progress the child is making is the information parents need to understand. Lack of progress is a serious red flag that cannot be ignored. A student who is not progressing is a student who is falling behind.

Teachers who have instructed students for a minimum of four months should be able to talk knowledgeably about the progress of their students.

* No. 3: Provide parents with samples of work that reflect their child's progress.

The value of maintaining student portfolios is particularly evident during parent-teacher conferences. If one picture is worth a thousand words, then one student portfolio is worth countless report cards!

If we want parents to truly understand the products, the progress, and the thinking processes of children, then portfolios and anecdotal records must be used to transform educational jargon into concrete, visual examples that support the evaluation process and give meaning to it for parents.

Share writing samples, artwork, examples of math projects, science lab reports, etc., from throughout the grading period since both skill and thought process development are quite apparent with these types of work samples. Consider using more sophisticated portfolios, which can include such items as video or multimedia student reports, audio or video recordings of oral reading, debates, performances, or photographs of student projects.

The time spent collecting and organizing portfolios pays great dividends in assisting parents to really see, perhaps for the first time, the progress or lack of progress their child is making. Combined with more traditional assessment tools, portfolios help both parents and teachers see a more complete picture of the development of the student.

* No. 4: Identify the level of the student's participation and contribution to group work and cooperative assignments. What process role does the student seem most comfortable assuming?

The ability to work in a group is critical in today's world. A student who is successful only when working independently is ill prepared for the real world ahead. The most common reason for employees losing jobs is not their lack of skill or knowledge, but rather their inability to work cooperatively with others.