During the conference

Create a welcoming environment

Make your classroom inviting by displaying students' work, and making space for the conference with an adult-sized table and chairs. If parents need to bring their child or other siblings, have an area set aside with puzzles, games, worksheets, or computers to limit distractions. Also consider offering healthy snacks or beverages to families. Remember to have paper and pens available so parents can take notes. You also might want to have a box of tissues available for when you have to deliver bad news.

Open with positives

When you start the conversation, remind parents that the goal of this meeting is to share information about students' academic progress and growth and how their child interacts in the school environment. All parents are proud of their kids and want to hear about their child's strengths as well as challenges, so be sure to discuss both — but start with the positives.

Discuss progress and growth

Inform parents about their child's ability levels or grade levels in different content areas, using demonstrative work examples or testing results. Many parents want to know how their children compare to their peers, but remind them that you're discussing their child's individual instructional levels, not their standing in class. You should, however, inform them about grade-level expectations and how the student is doing in that context.

Avoid teacher-talk

Pre-K- 8 education is loaded with jargon and acronyms, but a parent-teacher conference is not the place to use them. Be sure to explain any terms, curriculum titles, or even words on progress reports that aren't commonly used outside the school setting.

Ask questions and listen

Ask parents or guardians for their input about students' strengths, needs, and learning styles, as well as their hopes and dreams for their children. Don't forget to ask these simple but important questions: "Does your child like school?" and "Why?" or "Why not?" That single line of questioning can give you a lot of information that can be helpful in the classroom.

Make a plan

Provide suggestions for activities and strategies to support learning at home. Spend the last few minutes of the meeting on your specific goals for the student. Note the kinds of strategies you'll use, the length of time you'll use them, and when you'll communicate to parents next.

Be honest and have a thick skin

It's your responsibility to give parents or guardians an accurate assessment of students' academic progress. Sometimes this means delivering bad news. Sugar-coating the facts defeats the purpose of the conference. In addition, you may see some of your students differently than their parents do, and some parents may take your evaluation of their child in a negative or defensive way. While you should be open to constructive criticism, remember that you're in charge of the conference, and if the discussion becomes too heated to be effective, or goes awry in other ways, you should conclude the meeting and ask to reconvene at another time. If you have reason to expect such negative interactions before the next conference, ask an administrator to attend.