Directions - Skyward - Schedule Conferences

Requirements for setting up conferences are different at each school and may change each year. Before setting up your conferences you should be familiar with any requirements for your upcoming conferences.

Alternative tutorials including slideshows or a video are at the bottom of this page.

Step 1

Teacher Access > My Conference Scheduler

A. Open Skyward and select 'Teacher Access' from the menu at top.

B. At the bottom of the menu that opens, select 'My Conference Scheduler - CS'

Step 2

Delete Past Conferences

If this is the second time this year you have scheduled conferences in Skyward, you will need to follow directions to 'Delete Conferences' otherwise parents will be blocked from scheduling new conferences.

Step 3

Mass Add Time Slots

This step shows you how to create a large block of conferences that can later be adjusted by deleting conferences or adding individual time slots.

A. Open a sub menu by selecting the triangle in front of the group/class for which your school has been told to schedule conferences.

High School usually selects 'Any' class so that parents of students in any of their classes can select a conference time.
Greenfield usually selects 'Learner Behaviors' to only allow parents of students in that group to schedule a conference but may also need to select 'Any' if parents of students in a special class may need to schedule a conference as well.
Viking usually selects their 'Advisory' in the fall so only parents of their Advisory students can schedule a conference time but they may also need to select 'Any' if parents of students in a special class may need to schedule a conference as well. In Spring Viking conferences are usually not scheduled because conferences are student led.

B. Select the triangle next to 'Conferences' and verify if there are already conferences scheduled. If there are, you may need to follow directions titled 'Delete Conferences' to clear out previous conferences so parents do not run into problems signing up.

C. Select the 'Mass Add Time Slots' button at the right.

Step 4

Select Details for Conferences

A. The Title becomes a heading parents see.

B. Choose the date your block of conferences should start.

C. Choose the time your block of conferences should start.

D. Choose the date your block of conferences should end. For conferences on only one night you would choose the same date as the start.

E. Choose the time your block of conferences should end.

Note: If you create conferences for multiple dates, the conferences will only be scheduled between the start and end times on each of those dates.

F. Type in how many minutes you would like each conference to last.

G. Type in how many minutes break you would like between each conference

Note: As it is shown in the image, parents would see four time slots available each hour between 4PM and 8PM and only expect them to last 10 minutes.

H. Place a check mark in front of each meeting option your school requires you offer. If you select 'Phone' or 'Virtual' a field opens for you to add details like a phone number of meeting URL. Important Note: Adding a meeting URL in this stage will assign all your conferences the same connection for their meetings. Parents will likely join early and interrupt before you have ended a previous conference. Consider leaving this field blank and later editing individual conferences to add unique meeting spaces. The 'Start or Join a Meet' direction explains how to create and share a Google Meet virtual meeting space.

I. If you give more than one option for in step H, you can choose which becomes the default choice when parents are signing up. They will have to intentionally select the option to change it.

Note: the following two options are to communicate to parents where the conference will be held. Schools usually communicate where parents should go in other ways in which case these fields can be left blank.

J. Option to select the school where you will be during your conferences.

K. Option to select the room where you will be during your conferences.

L. You will likely leave these selections as shown. If you uncheck 'Select Any Class' it will give you a list of classes. You could use that to select specific classes of students whose parents are allowed to sign up for this block of conferences. Similarly you can select an Entity if you teach at multiple schools in the district and want to limit access.

M. Select the 'Mass Add and Close' button.

Step 5

Adjust Schedule

After the previous step you will be returned to the screen you were on in Step 3 except now you should see the conference block you just scheduled under the class you used. As parents sign up the details listed for each conference may fill in.

A. Select 'Edit' in front of any conference to make changes to just its scheduling details as described in Step 4. However, this time there will be an additional button you can select to add 'Additional Attendees' which allows you to add additional parents or teachers to join the conference.

B. Select 'Delete' to in front of any conference to remove it from the possible options a parent will choose from. This is commonly used to create time for a teacher to eat a meal.

C. Select 'Add Note' in front of any conference to provide details about the conference you would like shared with the parent.

D. Select the 'Add Time Slot' button for each time slot you would like to add individually to your schedule. You will follow a process similar to Step 4.

E. The 'Do Not Schedule' tab is not often used but could allow you to schedule out days and times you do not want conferences scheduled. The schedules are usually simple enough that it is easier to delete as described in B.

F. Select the 'Calendar' tab to view a calendar you can scroll through to view and edit your conference time slots.

Parent Instructions:

Parents access the all the time slots made available to them by going to the 'Conferences' Tab in Family Access. The resource below is usually shared with parents when the school sends a message about signing up for conferences.

How Parents Schedule Conferences in Skyward

Parent Tutorial for Scheduling Conferences

Step-by-step printable tutorial showing how parents schedule conferences in Skyward/Family Access. You can copy this link to share it: How to Schedule Conferences in Family Access

Alternative Teacher Tutorials:

Skyward Conference Scheduler-Greenfield

Teacher Tutorial for Scheduling Conferences at Greenfield or Viking

Condensed tutorial showing Greenfield and Viking teachers how to schedule their conferences time slots in Skyward.

Skyward Conference Scheduler - HS

Teacher Tutorial for Scheduling Conferences at High School

Condensed tutorial showing high school teachers how to schedule their conferences time slots in Skyward.

How to Setup Conferences in Skyward - Greenfield.mp4

Skyward Conference Scheduler

Screencast video showing how teachers set up conferences in Skyward.

Note: Days and times you are required to hold conferences will be different then shown in the video.

Page updated

Report abuse