By Amanda Bowers
Amanda Bowers has a Bachelors in Elementary Education from Utah Valley University and a Masters in Learning and Technology from Western Governors University. She is a passionate educator with five years of teaching experience in the 2nd and 5th grades. Amanda currently holds a teaching position in the Alpine School District and serves as a tutor and a blogger for Jackie’s Classroom.
Let’s face it, parent teacher conferences can be overwhelming and even a bit awkward. Ask your child’s teacher these 5 questions to help you have a more meaningful experience!
Before the Conference: Can I See My Student’s Data?
Utah teachers know data drives instruction. They have been trained on how to collect and analyze data at the beginning
and throughout the school year.
meaning they are at the “just right” level with instruction that is neither too hard nor too easy. Viewing your child’s data
before meeting with the teacher can better prepare you for an effective conference. It will free up time to thoroughly discuss the data while also allowing time to discuss the plan to increase your child’s educational growth.
Will You Help Me Understand the Data?
Viewing the data and understanding the data are two different things. Sometimes as a Utah teacher, I still need help understanding the data and finding the student’s “just right” level. As a parent, you might need help knowing what you are looking at. Your teacher can help you with this!
The state of Utah mandates teachers to administer and report to Utah parents reading and math data through assessments, including the Acadience and Aspire tests. Generally, this information is uniformed and is sent home with a letter so that parents can understand it.
After understanding your data, you can ask your teacher to help you determine how your child compares with others in the class. If needed, you can also ask your teacher for a suggestion for intervention lessons for your child.
What Interventions are Offered at the School?
A lot of Utah schools have designated intervention time. You can ask your teacher what is being offered at your school. Is your child getting extra help? If so, what are they working on? Is the focus math, reading, or both? What specific skills is your child working on and what is the plan to help them progress?
What Can I Do at Home?
As a teacher, it’s easy to think that parents have a lot of time to work on their students’ educational needs at home. When I became a parent, I realized it wasn’t so easy and we don’t have a lot of time to spend with our kids! A good question to ask your teacher at parent teacher conferences is what you can do at home. Be honest with your teacher. Maybe you only have ten minutes to work with your child each day; that is okay! Ask your student’s teacher what is the best use of those ten minutes. I promise, everything helps! They should be able to give you resources to have your child work on independently or with you at home.
When Should I Follow Up?
This question is huge. For many of my students I only meet with their parents twice a year. I get it. We all have busy lives. However, following up is so important! Ask your teacher, “When can I follow up on my students’ educational growth?” They might say weekly, biweekly, or maybe even monthly. This will give you good ideas as to changes that can be made at home, as well as what’s happening in the classroom with your child’s progress.
Parent teacher conferences can sometimes be overwhelming or even underwhelming. As you go prepared with these questions in mind, you will have a positive experience and a big impact on yourchild’s education. There is also extra help available at Jackie’s Classroom! Our wonderful tutors can help pinpoint learning holes and fill them to give your child a successful educational career. This can help accelerate the intervention timeline to get your student on or above level.