Anonymous wrote:If I were you, I'd e-mail Diantha Swift and request a reinstatement of individual conferences. Would be best if a large group of parents pushed back.

And does she still report to Bronda Mills? You may want to follow up with her as well. Ms. Mills has been very reasonable in conversations that I have had with her.

Ms. Swift has been vocal in the past about keeping Sligo Creek issues in the school and not going outside. But you will likely need to force the issue to get it changed.

Thanks, this is very helpful. I think the way this was communicated was bad for the teachers and the parents. What you suggest is a specific way of handling this and it takes into account the reporting structure and information I was unaware of about the principal. Very useful!

If I were you, I'd e-mail Diantha Swift and request a reinstatement of individual conferences. Would be best if a large group of parents pushed back.

And does she still report to Bronda Mills? You may want to follow up with her as well. Ms. Mills has been very reasonable in conversations that I have had with her.

Ms. Swift has been vocal in the past about keeping Sligo Creek issues in the school and not going outside. But you will likely need to force the issue to get it changed.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I've heard terrible things about the administration at Sligo Creek ES. I imagine this is specific to that school.

So had I, but until this, I'd never experienced any issue with the administration. It's one thing to change policy with no notice or serious explanation of what parent engagement sessions are and what they achieve--but it's quite another to portray the change as something that other schools are doing as well--and it turns out that is not the case.

OP, it might be true that other schools are doing this. MCPS has 132 elementary schools. Could you perhaps e-mail the principal (or whoever said that other schools are doing this) and politely ask which schools?

Anonymous wrote:I've heard terrible things about the administration at Sligo Creek ES. I imagine this is specific to that school.

So had I, but until this, I'd never experienced any issue with the administration. It's one thing to change policy with no notice or serious explanation of what parent engagement sessions are and what they achieve--but it's quite another to portray the change as something that other schools are doing as well--and it turns out that is not the case.

We just signed up for parent teacher conferences last night at BTS night. Plus, our teachers have been very responsive by email.

Parent engagement sessions?!?! Oh my God. When will this foolishness end?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Surprising.
We were not told this at our Elementary school BTS Night.

I already think it's ridiculous to only have ONE conference - how are you supposed to be kept abreast of your child's progress? Of course, I know I can schedule conferences any time, but still... MCPS should show its commitment to keeping parents part of the educational team by having 2 official parent conferences per year.

And don't get me started on the inane and completely uninformative report card...

+ 1 million

+1 million and one

I've heard terrible things about the administration at Sligo Creek ES. I imagine this is specific to that school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I already think it's ridiculous to only have ONE conference - how are you supposed to be kept abreast of your child's progress? Of course, I know I can schedule conferences any time, but still... MCPS should show its commitment to keeping parents part of the educational team by having 2 official parent conferences per year.

If you want another conference, then schedule another conference.

This
This
and
freaking this
Heck my kid's teacher saw me this morning at drop-off and INITIATED a conversation in which she told me about my child's progress thus far and her plan/focus for my child's progress.
Plus, the teacher emailed the entire class(parents) with links to online resources to help us understand the math curriculum.
If you want a conference or anything else not on a pre-determined schedule, then ask for it.
Quite frankly, I sometimes want more immediate information and don't want to wait for a conference scheduled 2 months from now.

If that is the case, I would encourage all the parents to schedule an individual conference so the teachers/admin will realize how important they are to parents.

They have them on the calendar, but they announced yesterday that this is when they will have the parent engagement sessions and there will be no individual parent teacher conferences--of course, you can schedule your own and they will not say no to that. I was just wondering what other schools were also implementing this policy since it was announced that this was part of a pilot program and also something other schools were doing.

Anonymous wrote:It is elementary school--Sligo Creek Elementary, but they said other schools are also doing away with it in favor of parent engagement sessions or something

Sligo Creek ES still has "parent conferences" on their calendar.

Anonymous wrote:It is elementary school--Sligo Creek Elementary, but they said other schools are also doing away with it in favor of parent engagement sessions or something

WTH is a "parent engagement session"?

The bottom line is that parent/teacher conferences were always time set aside for one parent and their child's teacher to meet and specifically discuss that particular child's needs and performance. If a "parent engagement session" is for groups of parents, it cannot substitute for the P/T conference, because you will not be able to discuss individual child needs. I agree with other PPs -- call and arrange a P/T conference if you feel the need. What are they going to do -- tell you no?

It is elementary school--Sligo Creek Elementary, but they said other schools are also doing away with it in favor of parent engagement sessions or something

I htink it is some private school parent trying to start rumors.