Miscellaneous
Parent/teacher conferences can be something that both parents and teachers dread. We can get tired of the same old, same old interactions, that really did not affect change. Often this conferences take the shape of telling the parents all the “wrong” things their child is doing to earn a bad grade – or it is a time for the parents of the high performing students to come to school to hear how great their child is or is doing. Most of the time the student is excluded from the conference or not given much of a voice to advocate for themselves. Instead of conferences, why not try goal setting meetings that are led by students? This meeting can be a positive, proactive approach to improve student achievement by facilitating a positive mindset. Learning cannot happen if students do not understand the expectations and do not have a positive attitude and mindset. Student success is more likely with parents as part of the instructional team.