No, I would never skip a parent teacher conference. I was a teacher before becoming a parent and I know how those parents who skip are talked about among the teachers of all grades.

Parental involvement is a cornerstone to a child’s success. Parent-Teacher Conferences are part of that involvement.

On the rare occasions when conferences did not give me insight into my child's functioning, it gave me insight into the teacher's functioning - which is always useful in case something happens later in the year.

Never had to drive 3 hours, though!

Anonymous wrote:I skipped one of three last year (had a new baby). Nothing bad happened.

Not for you, but as a teacher I get marked down on my evaluation if I don't meet with 100% of my parents. A nice e-mail saying you appreciate the offer but don't need to have a conference would probably help!

It's fine if you choose not to attend, but please don't confirm that you're coming and then just not show up. That's a slot someone else could have had, or I could have spent more time with the parent before you but I didn't want to cut into your time so I cut them off at the proper time just to have you no show. If you'd rather conference by phone that's fine too. Just please don't skip without letting the teacher know you won't be attending.

I always go.

Why did it take you so long?

Never have, and I skip a lot of (most) school things including curriculum/parent night.

I figure it would damage an opportunity to build a rapport with the teacher in case an issue crops up later in the year.

Tempting though! I never find them useful at all.

What grade is your kid? I don’t do the middle school ones. The ES ones are moderately useful.

I skipped for the first time this year. They're utterly useless

I hate them. Agree that when you need to engage, you do it. For issues or social activity/fundraising/engagement. But it shouldn’t be required if the parent or teacher doesn’t have a specific issue or concern.

I skipped one of three last year (had a new baby). Nothing bad happened.

I have when I knew the teacher was a bust and didn't care what we had to say.

I agree. I don’t get anything from the conference that I haven’t already heard about or know by this time of year. If there’s an issue let me know before now, and if my kid’s doing fine I don’t need to take time off from work to hear it. This year I sent an email letting the teacher know I couldn’t make it on the day and offered a phone conference instead, it was so much easier.

I like it because it's basically the only definite one on one time. Yes, it's silly sometimes, but I like it and it builds connection with teachers and the schools.

What are earth you talking about? How many kids you have? How old are they?

This is the second+ year in a row that I got very little from the conferences. This year, it was extremely chaotic, and it took me 3 hours (plus driving time) to get <10 minutes with 4 teachers, only for them to tell me my kids are doing fine. We're involved otherwise - we chaperone field trips, we are responsive to any issues, we attend all performances, in class presentations, etc. Am I missing a reason to continue to do this?