9. Professionalism, Leadership, and Advocacy

This is the sheet that I used when having parent teacher conferences with my cooperating teacher during my second-grade student teaching placement in the fall of 2022. I had the privilege of meeting with parents and talking through each one of the talking points on this paper. I got to have professional conversations with the parents of my students during fifteen-minute meetings. For each conference, I jotted notes about what the parents said about the student in order to form a better foundational knowledge about the child as their teacher.

This artifact meets performance indicator 9L of the Illinois Professional Teaching Standards which states that the competent teacher “communicates with families, responds to concerns, and contributes to enhanced family participation in student education.” Through having these parent teacher conferences, and using this sheet, I was able to structure a conversation which communicated with the parents, responded to any concerns they had, and found ways for the parents to be involved in their student’s education. This artifact also shows how I have met performance indicator 9M which says that the competent teacher “communicates relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents or guardians, and peers…” Through having these meetings, I was able to communicate information about the students and their successes with the parents. I was also able to contribute ideas with the parents about how to better help or push the students towards success.

Through using this artifact, I was able to practice the professionalism and leadership that teachers have when leading parent teacher conferences. I learned how to greet parents appropriately and how to start conversations with them that would lead to a productive conference. I learned that it is important to have structure and organization when leading conferences so that I can lead with professionalism and help the conversation stay on track. I also learned that when I have a sheet for each student, I can easily jot down notes based on the valuable information and insight that the parents provide for me.

This artifact contains a weekly newsletter that I wrote during student teaching in the Fall of 2022. In the newsletter, I communicate to parents and families what the students learned the past week in school. I also communicate any other details such as our Safari Friend of the Week. This is a student who is highlighted that week and who comes to school with a poster they fill out about themselves and pictures. Those things are posted at the front of the classroom for the week, and the student can invite whoever they want to the classroom to help them present the things they brought, or do a fun activity with the class.

The newsletter that I wrote demonstrates professionalism in written communication. In writing this, I was able to communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents or guardians. This shows that I have met performance indicator 9M which states that the competent teacher, “communicates relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents or guardians, and peers, using a variety of technology and digital-age media and formats.” Including the Safari Friend of the Week opportunity also shows I have met performance indicator 9Q which says that the competent teacher “proactively serves all students and their families with equity and honor and advocates on their behalf, ensuring the learning and well-being of each child in the classroom.” Providing students and their families a chance to be highlighted each week provides a sense of honoring their family as they can bring their knowledge and experience into the classroom to share with the class. This ensures that each child feels special and boosts their pride in themselves and in their family’s assets.

Being able to write this newsletter was a formative experience for me as an educator because it gave me a good idea of how I may want to communicate with parents. I see that writing a newsletter is a really helpful way for the parents to get a sense of what their students have been learning throughout the week. This way, they can be kept informed and can help their child be prepared as a student. Writing a newsletter also establishes my professionalism and organization as we prepare for each new week of school.