Sooner, longer, better

NEA Today, Feb 2002 by Hess, Mary Anne

Learning

Parent conferencing gets a stronger focus in Tacoma, Washington.

When Elizabeth Nem's son, Vatt, started first grade at Point Defiance Elementary School in Tacoma, Washington last fall, she had one nagging concern: her child's persistence in using his fingers to count. Fortunately, it wasn't long before Nem, her son, and his teacher met for the first of their "partnership conferences," a new and improved take on the traditional parent-teacher conference that has now spread throughout the district's 37 elementary schools.

These meetings differ from traditional conferences in several ways:

They start early in the school year.

There are at least two per year.

Each conference is fairly long-- about 40 minutes.

Students are full participants.

Goals emerge from the conference; they aren't pre-set by the teacher.

Parents and students develop goals to work on at home.

"I told the teacher that I want my son to count with his mind," says Nem. So, at the teacher's suggestion, Nem is using flash cards and other math exercises at home to gradually reduce Vatt's reliance on his fingers. Involving parents and children in setting such a goal and then giving them the tools to reach it-that's what partnership conferencing is all about.

"We have a conversation, with structure," says Gayle Nakayama, who, as a reading teacher at Tacoma's Larchmont Elementary School, was in the group that pioneered the practice about six years ago. "It's about relationship building and goal setting."

Teachers are trained to listen, ask open-ended questions and adjust their body language to be more approachable. Translators are on hand whenever possible. Sometimes the students themselves translate.

The first conference takes place by early October. There's a second in November or March, depending on the child's progress.

The idea grew out of school improvement discussions at Larchmont Elementary. A grant from the NEA's Foundation for the Improvement of Education (NFIE) and training from the Washington Education Association made the proposal a reality.

The old way of waiting until November report cards for conferences and then cramming everything parents should know into 15 or 20 minutes wasn't working, says Nakayama, who is now vice president of the Tacoma Education Association.

In contrast, partnership conferencing offers everybody in the room "a chance to dream about the child, about what we want him or her to learn this year," says Vatt Nem's first-grade teacher, Judy Jarvits. Before conference time, Jarvits and her colleagues all over the district talk to students about setting goals. Even the youngest children start using the vocabulary. Parents fill out an information form in advance, providing a conversation opener.

"Most children are very pleased to be the focus of the conference," says Jarvits, an educator for 35 years. "They enjoy hearing their parents and the teacher talking about their education." Having the children present brings other benefit: Parents are more likely to come when their children have to be there, too, Jarvits notes.

Generally, parents begin with very broad goals, such as wanting their child to learn to read or to add and subtract, she says. So she suggests more specific targets, such as learning the letter sounds or consonant clusters. At that point, she notes, parents will say, "That's something I can do."

At the end, everybody signs a plan setting goals for math, literacy, and social skills. Included are details on how all the partners-the teacher, school, parents, and child-will work to reach the goals. "It is very beneficial," says Nem, who makes sure she spends an hour or two each day helping Vatt and his brother with schoolwork.

Jarvits has already had a second conference with most parents of her 20 students. For children with difficulties, she'll go beyond what's required.

Each conference sees the goals revised or continued. "The more times the parents hear the expectations, the more apt they are to follow through," says Jarvits.

The conferences also help parents understand what is going on in the classroom, Jarvits adds.

Nakayama says this enhanced conference program is especially useful for children and families living in poverty, who have difficulty setting goals when mere survival is a struggle. And it offers a non-threatening way to introduce school to parents from different cultures who may not be accustomed to participating.

"As teachers, we're used to taking it upon ourselves to be givers of knowledge," says Nakayama. "But with this model of partnership and parent participation, parents aren't being told what to do.

"Once we get them to a conference, they'll come back. If you connect with them just once, you're going to make the whole year easier."

-Mary Anne Hess

For more: Contact Gayle Nakayama at gnakaya@tacoma.k12.wa.us.