Dear Parents,
Next Friday, your daughters will stay home so that you have
the opportunity to meet with her teachers and talk about these first few weeks
of school. Teachers will also be meeting
with parents until 6 p.m. Thursday evening. Conferences can be nerve-wracking and
challenging for both teachers and parents. After all, what can possibly be
accomplished when one has only 15-20 minutes to have a meaningful give and take
about the past 6 weeks?
In fact, parent teacher conferences can be meaningful, with intentional steps taken before the meeting
happens:
1.
Before the conference, reflect on your thoughts
about how well your child has transitioned in these first few weeks. How has
she appeared to thrive, and where have her bumps in the road seemed to be, from
your perspective? It’s okay to bring notes if you are afraid you will forget.
2.
What are one or two questions you have with
regard to your daughter’s experience in school? With only a few minutes to
share and listen, speaking to what is core is important.
3.
Ask your daughter if she has questions or
comments that she would like you to share.
Be her voice.
At school, teachers have worked for the last few weeks
preparing work samples, notes, and their own thoughts to share. They have worked
hard to create a portrait of your child that can be effectively communicated
and shared in the brief time that you will have. The goals for you, and for them, are the
same: to build a picture together of the student your daughter is, to ask and
answer questions relative to that picture, and to support the other in helping
your daughter be the best possible student she can be.
Just as you may have had to make special arrangements to be
present at conferences next week, so have we made a point of arranging the
calendar to make the time. With this in mind, I ask that you do your very best
to be present at your appointment, on your assigned day, and understand that teachers
will not necessarily be able to accommodate requests for conferences in the
following weeks if you have chosen to use Friday to extend your weekend. On
Monday their work, energy and focus will go back to the teaching, nurturing and
challenging of your child and the others in their classes.
I wish you productive, informative time with your child’s
teacher, and remind you that I am always available should you have questions
for me!
- Donna