Parent Teacher conferences - next week

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In MS and HS if you have a question for a teacher just reach out and ask. Or if a conversation would be better just ask for a call. Teachers are often reaching out to parents with student feedback. The speed dating formats aren’t really that great but there truly isn’t a good way for many parents to meet many teachers over the course of two 2 hour early release days.

True, but one year, I reached out to teacher X in October, and didn't get an appt slot for a 10 minute call til December. Teacher made an appointment with me, and then forgot about it, then was busy.

I wasn't pushy, my kid wasn't in dire straits, but having structured slots in November, during a time of the day teachers set aside for PT conferences can be useful for everyone so we don't have to try to slot ourselves into the busy day of a teacher. I wish MS gave more time for them, so more parents would feel comfortable asknig for an appt.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In MS and HS if you have a question for a teacher just reach out and ask. Or if a conversation would be better just ask for a call. Teachers are often reaching out to parents with student feedback. The speed dating formats aren’t really that great but there truly isn’t a good way for many parents to meet many teachers over the course of two 2 hour early release days.

True, but one year, I reached out to teacher X in October, and didn't get an appt slot for a 10 minute call til December. Teacher made an appointment with me, and then forgot about it, then was busy.

I wasn't pushy, my kid wasn't in dire straits, but having structured slots in November, during a time of the day teachers set aside for PT conferences can be useful for everyone so we don't have to try to slot ourselves into the busy day of a teacher. I wish MS gave more time for them, so more parents would feel comfortable asknig for an appt.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In MS and HS if you have a question for a teacher just reach out and ask. Or if a conversation would be better just ask for a call. Teachers are often reaching out to parents with student feedback. The speed dating formats aren’t really that great but there truly isn’t a good way for many parents to meet many teachers over the course of two 2 hour early release days.

Elementary schools do it better. They offer slots for about two weeks before the two half-days in addition to making themselves available on the half days.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In MS and HS if you have a question for a teacher just reach out and ask. Or if a conversation would be better just ask for a call. Teachers are often reaching out to parents with student feedback. The speed dating formats aren’t really that great but there truly isn’t a good way for many parents to meet many teachers over the course of two 2 hour early release days.

Elementary schools do it better. They offer slots for about two weeks before the two half-days in addition to making themselves available on the half days.

True, but most elementary school teachers have 32 kids at most. MS/HS teachers have 5x that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In MS and HS if you have a question for a teacher just reach out and ask. Or if a conversation would be better just ask for a call. Teachers are often reaching out to parents with student feedback. The speed dating formats aren’t really that great but there truly isn’t a good way for many parents to meet many teachers over the course of two 2 hour early release days.

Elementary schools do it better. They offer slots for about two weeks before the two half-days in addition to making themselves available on the half days.

True, but most elementary school teachers have 32 kids at most. MS/HS teachers have 5x that.

I am an outlier elementary school teacher. I teach at a TWI (Two Way Immersion) school and share two classes with my partner teacher. We have 45 students and are expected to meet with all of the parents. It’s not easy trying to schedule 45 conferences. We’ve been meeting with parents every day, before, during, and after school since the first week of November. Throw in paperwork due for 504 and IEP meetings, and it’s a lot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In MS and HS if you have a question for a teacher just reach out and ask. Or if a conversation would be better just ask for a call. Teachers are often reaching out to parents with student feedback. The speed dating formats aren’t really that great but there truly isn’t a good way for many parents to meet many teachers over the course of two 2 hour early release days.

Elementary schools do it better. They offer slots for about two weeks before the two half-days in addition to making themselves available on the half days.

True, but most elementary school teachers have 32 kids at most. MS/HS teachers have 5x that.

I am an outlier elementary school teacher. I teach at a TWI (Two Way Immersion) school and share two classes with my partner teacher. We have 45 students and are expected to meet with all of the parents. It’s not easy trying to schedule 45 conferences. We’ve been meeting with parents every day, before, during, and after school since the first week of November. Throw in paperwork due for 504 and IEP meetings, and it’s a lot.

I have no doubt that’s a lot, and I’m sure that’s a heavy load on top of your regular work.

My biggest load has been 172 students, though. I’m trying to imagine scheduling 172 conferences. At 5 a day, it would take 7 full weeks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In MS and HS if you have a question for a teacher just reach out and ask. Or if a conversation would be better just ask for a call. Teachers are often reaching out to parents with student feedback. The speed dating formats aren’t really that great but there truly isn’t a good way for many parents to meet many teachers over the course of two 2 hour early release days.

True, but one year, I reached out to teacher X in October, and didn't get an appt slot for a 10 minute call til December. Teacher made an appointment with me, and then forgot about it, then was busy.

I wasn't pushy, my kid wasn't in dire straits, but having structured slots in November, during a time of the day teachers set aside for PT conferences can be useful for everyone so we don't have to try to slot ourselves into the busy day of a teacher. I wish MS gave more time for them, so more parents would feel comfortable asknig for an appt.

5 min when the teacher is exhausted from speaking with 20 people ahead of you =/= 10 min that you might need to reschedule once or twice.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think this model of "parent engagement" is performative and a waste of time. MCPS needs to reimagine parent-teacher conferences to build true and lasting relationships.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In MS and HS if you have a question for a teacher just reach out and ask. Or if a conversation would be better just ask for a call. Teachers are often reaching out to parents with student feedback. The speed dating formats aren’t really that great but there truly isn’t a good way for many parents to meet many teachers over the course of two 2 hour early release days.

True, but one year, I reached out to teacher X in October, and didn't get an appt slot for a 10 minute call til December. Teacher made an appointment with me, and then forgot about it, then was busy.

I wasn't pushy, my kid wasn't in dire straits, but having structured slots in November, during a time of the day teachers set aside for PT conferences can be useful for everyone so we don't have to try to slot ourselves into the busy day of a teacher. I wish MS gave more time for them, so more parents would feel comfortable asknig for an appt.

5 min when the teacher is exhausted from speaking with 20 people ahead of you =/= 10 min that you might need to reschedule once or twice.

True. Yes, the teacher stood me up 2x saying they forgot, but once we did speak, it was a helpful conversation. I would have preferred to speak at a normal PT structured slot of 8 minutes-less likely the teacher would have forgotten and earlier in the year.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In MS and HS if you have a question for a teacher just reach out and ask. Or if a conversation would be better just ask for a call. Teachers are often reaching out to parents with student feedback. The speed dating formats aren’t really that great but there truly isn’t a good way for many parents to meet many teachers over the course of two 2 hour early release days.

Elementary schools do it better. They offer slots for about two weeks before the two half-days in addition to making themselves available on the half days.

True, but most elementary school teachers have 32 kids at most. MS/HS teachers have 5x that.

I am an outlier elementary school teacher. I teach at a TWI (Two Way Immersion) school and share two classes with my partner teacher. We have 45 students and are expected to meet with all of the parents. It’s not easy trying to schedule 45 conferences. We’ve been meeting with parents every day, before, during, and after school since the first week of November. Throw in paperwork due for 504 and IEP meetings, and it’s a lot.

I have no doubt that’s a lot, and I’m sure that’s a heavy load on top of your regular work.

My biggest load has been 172 students, though. I’m trying to imagine scheduling 172 conferences. At 5 a day, it would take 7 full weeks.

It is highly unlikely that all 172 students will have a parent who would ask for a conference. But there's a happy medium between offering slots for 172 students and offering slots for 8 students per teacher, which is what my kids' MS does.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In MS and HS if you have a question for a teacher just reach out and ask. Or if a conversation would be better just ask for a call. Teachers are often reaching out to parents with student feedback. The speed dating formats aren’t really that great but there truly isn’t a good way for many parents to meet many teachers over the course of two 2 hour early release days.

True, but one year, I reached out to teacher X in October, and didn't get an appt slot for a 10 minute call til December. Teacher made an appointment with me, and then forgot about it, then was busy.

I wasn't pushy, my kid wasn't in dire straits, but having structured slots in November, during a time of the day teachers set aside for PT conferences can be useful for everyone so we don't have to try to slot ourselves into the busy day of a teacher. I wish MS gave more time for them, so more parents would feel comfortable asknig for an appt.

5 min when the teacher is exhausted from speaking with 20 people ahead of you =/= 10 min that you might need to reschedule once or twice.

True. Yes, the teacher stood me up 2x saying they forgot, but once we did speak, it was a helpful conversation. I would have preferred to speak at a normal PT structured slot of 8 minutes-less likely the teacher would have forgotten and earlier in the year.

If a 10 min conversation in person was helpful and you would have preferred an 8 min conversation, imagine what an email exchange weeks earlier could have accomplished!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In MS and HS if you have a question for a teacher just reach out and ask. Or if a conversation would be better just ask for a call. Teachers are often reaching out to parents with student feedback. The speed dating formats aren’t really that great but there truly isn’t a good way for many parents to meet many teachers over the course of two 2 hour early release days.

True, but one year, I reached out to teacher X in October, and didn't get an appt slot for a 10 minute call til December. Teacher made an appointment with me, and then forgot about it, then was busy.

I wasn't pushy, my kid wasn't in dire straits, but having structured slots in November, during a time of the day teachers set aside for PT conferences can be useful for everyone so we don't have to try to slot ourselves into the busy day of a teacher. I wish MS gave more time for them, so more parents would feel comfortable asknig for an appt.

5 min when the teacher is exhausted from speaking with 20 people ahead of you =/= 10 min that you might need to reschedule once or twice.

True. Yes, the teacher stood me up 2x saying they forgot, but once we did speak, it was a helpful conversation. I would have preferred to speak at a normal PT structured slot of 8 minutes-less likely the teacher would have forgotten and earlier in the year.

If a 10 min conversation in person was helpful and you would have preferred an 8 min conversation, imagine what an email exchange weeks earlier could have accomplished!

Imagine if you could understand that if it were something that could be easily resolved with a simple email, that I wouldn’t have wasted my time being stood up twice in an online meeting by a teacher who forgot the appointment! And it wasn’t a 10 minute in-person meeting, it was online, but making incorrect assumptions seems to be something you enjoy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In MS and HS if you have a question for a teacher just reach out and ask. Or if a conversation would be better just ask for a call. Teachers are often reaching out to parents with student feedback. The speed dating formats aren’t really that great but there truly isn’t a good way for many parents to meet many teachers over the course of two 2 hour early release days.

Agreed. Our MS teachers have like 5 sections of 25-30 kids. We had back to school night in September where there were 7 half hour sessions and you would basically follow your kids' schedule and go to each class where the teachers would give a presentation. We have an open house where you can sit in on classes, and then the parent-teacher conferences where the teachers sit at a table for 6 hours to meet with parents (they have a dinner break, and the school sent around a schedule so you can see when each teacher is on break). Honestly I don't know what more the school can do? Seems perfectly reasonable to at least get an intro to each teacher and a quick sense of how your kid is doing. Coming prepared with questions helps. Also, we've not had trouble getting responses from teachers when we've reached out with issues or questions.

[Anonymous]

It is really a bad look when conferences are said to be only for failing kids. All kids deserve attention and all could benefit. I once got an email from a HS teacher after signing up for a conference saying my kid was doing well and teacher had no complaints so could I give up
My spot to another parent. Idid not give it up and the 10 minute conference was so helpful and necessary. I came with specific questions and needed her advice for my child. Emailing my questions would not resulted in the nuanced discussion that we had. I deserve a conference with my kid’s teachers just as much as the next parent or parent if kid who is failing. Honestly, if kid is failing, a 10 minute conference probably won’t make much difference.

I prepare for these conferences ahead of time and make a list of questions/comments for each teacher.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:In MS and HS if you have a question for a teacher just reach out and ask. Or if a conversation would be better just ask for a call. Teachers are often reaching out to parents with student feedback. The speed dating formats aren’t really that great but there truly isn’t a good way for many parents to meet many teachers over the course of two 2 hour early release days.

True, but one year, I reached out to teacher X in October, and didn't get an appt slot for a 10 minute call til December. Teacher made an appointment with me, and then forgot about it, then was busy.

I wasn't pushy, my kid wasn't in dire straits, but having structured slots in November, during a time of the day teachers set aside for PT conferences can be useful for everyone so we don't have to try to slot ourselves into the busy day of a teacher. I wish MS gave more time for them, so more parents would feel comfortable asknig for an appt.

5 min when the teacher is exhausted from speaking with 20 people ahead of you =/= 10 min that you might need to reschedule once or twice.

True. Yes, the teacher stood me up 2x saying they forgot, but once we did speak, it was a helpful conversation. I would have preferred to speak at a normal PT structured slot of 8 minutes-less likely the teacher would have forgotten and earlier in the year.

If a 10 min conversation in person was helpful and you would have preferred an 8 min conversation, imagine what an email exchange weeks earlier could have accomplished!

Imagine if you could understand that if it were something that could be easily resolved with a simple email, that I wouldn’t have wasted my time being stood up twice in an online meeting by a teacher who forgot the appointment! And it wasn’t a 10 minute in-person meeting, it was online, but making incorrect assumptions seems to be something you enjoy.

What can be resolved in a ten minute online meeting that couldn’t be resolved by an email?

I’ve made screen shots and scanned work samples to attach to emails. Both teachers and parents can do this.