Dear Parents,
If you have not already received some sort of communication from your child’s homeroom teacher, you will be hearing shortly about your scheduled appointment for teacher-parent conferences, which will occur on Thursday, February 10 and Friday, February 11. At no other time, perhaps, is the partnership between home and school more apparent than when parents and a teacher come together to discuss a child’s progress over the last 8-10 weeks, her strengths, her challenges, and the plan for helping her continue to grow. The teacher brings to the table his or her understanding of the child as a student, and the parent brings to the table his or her understanding of the child outside of school. When conferences go well, each perspective feeds and clarifies the other.
Before you come to your daughter’s conference, I encourage you to come prepared with information and questions. If something—anything—has changed in life at home, and you have not yet notified the teacher, this would be a good time to do so. Even when we do our best to keep our children out of the fray of adult issues, children know, and girls will internalize the feelings that go along with their understanding, however limited, of the situation. If you have questions about your daughter’s academic, social, or emotional growth as perceived here at school, this is the perfect time to ask. This is also a good time to literally serve as your child’s voice. Ask your daughter if there is anything she would like for you to bring up at the conference. If she has a question or comment, be sure to ask her why she wants you to approach the teacher. Having a context within which to discuss the thoughts of your child is critical, especially since she won’t be in the room. Be prepared to hear suggestions of how you can continue to work with the teacher for the benefit of your daughter, and don’t be afraid to offer thoughts of your own.
These two days have been set aside in the school calendar for you to have the undivided attention of your child’s teacher. I ask on behalf of the teachers, that you refrain from requesting another time outside of these days to meet unless you have an uncompromising work schedule or unforeseen circumstance. It seems like a small issue to move your conference, I know, but teacher spends hours preparing for the 15-20 minutes of conversation per child in a classroom, and when one multiplies such a request by the number of potential requests in one classroom the issue is no longer quite so small. I know that some families have decided that they do not wish for a conference at this time and have taken advantage of the day off from school to extend their weekends. If you find yourself in this category, please let your teacher know as soon as possible that you will not need a conference so that he or she can offer your time to someone else who could use it.
Thank you for your partnership. Have a terrific weekend.
Donna