Administrator's Corner

Message From the Principal

Parent teacher conferences are right around the corner!  By this time, you should have arranged a conference with your child’s teacher for next Friday, November 15th.  Conferences are a time to understand how your child is progressing in his/her academic career. I have included below a number of starter questions.  Remember, an excellent conference is one where you leave feeling heard and where you fully understand the next steps for allowing your child(ren) to grow.  Here are a few questions you might wish to ask during your conference.

• What is it that you want my child to learn?

• Is my child taking advantage of the opportunities he/she is given at school?  If not, how can we work together to encourage my child to engage in school?

• What are you doing as the classroom teacher to make sure you have a full understanding of my child’s needs?

• How are you responding to my child when he/she is having difficulty with the material in your classroom?

• If my child is falling behind when other children may have moved on how are you addressing this?

• How are you responding when my child has mastered the material, and others have not?

• How can we support you at home?  Are there games or activities that we could play as a family?

• What changes does my child need to make in his/her behavior to be more successful at school? 
   

Other Possible Conference Questions:

Here are other questions that you might consider asking at your parent-teacher conference.  A prepared parent with a positive attitude and an open mind is on the right track for creating a successful, year-long partnership with her/his child's teacher.  If you need help with an issue your child is having, ask the teacher for input. Teachers work with lots of students and have often encountered the very problem you are trying to solve.

Academic Performance

• What are the most important and complex (content-related) ideas my child needs to understand by the end of the year?

• Is my child doing his/her best? 

• What can we do to provide that extra help?

Difficult Situations - If your child is having problems in school or with the teacher, address them in an honest and respectful manner.

• May I share a concern? 

• Can you fill me in on this situation?  When your child has complaints about what's going on at school, ask for clarification from the teacher.  Every story has more than one side and often your child's side is the only side you have heard.

• Do you have any advice?

General Information - End the conference with these useful queries.

• What kinds of questions do you suggest that I ask my children on a daily basis about your class?  The home/school connection is a perfect way for students to share what they are learning in the classroom.  Your child’s teacher can give insight about which questions can bring about conversation at your home.

• How can I help?  Education is a partnership and doesn’t begin and end in the classroom; ask what you can do to support the classroom.  There might be supplies you can purchase, prep work you can do at home or other ways you can assist in the classroom.

• How can I contact you?  It's good to know how to get in touch with your child's teacher, so find out whether he or she prefers emails, phone calls or written notes.

Heick, Terry. "19 Meaningful Questions to Ask Your Child’s Teacher." Edutopia  N.p., 12 September 2014. Web. 08 Jan. 2015.

If after your conference you have remaining questions, please feel free to reach out to the classroom teacher and set up a follow up conference.  I always liked to leave conferences for my own children with two concrete action steps to help my children grow as learners. Also, please be aware that I enjoy attending conferences.  If I happen to wander into your conference it is for no reason other than my genuine interest in the academic and social progress of children at MCS.  

Enjoy the weekend,

Shawn