M6U3A3_DH_parent teacher conferences

Test score results of a
student who is
performing below the
expected proficiency
level

The Student: Esteban is a new student at the school. He transferred into
7th Grade. He often fails to complete assignments.When he does
complete them, his responses are worded in a confusing manner and
lack an appropriate level of detail.
The Issue: Proficiency below that of peers; Limited vocabulary;
Miscomprehension of instructions

 copies of Esteban’s science tests
 copies of the study guides for the tests
 Esteban’s science notebook

 An in-person meeting with Esteban’s parents
 At school, in the science room
 20 minute conference

Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Lopez. Thank you for coming in to meet with me to discuss how
Esteban is doing as he transitions to our school. I have noticed that Esteban really
likes his new school and he fits in well with his classmates. He is very courteous and
respectful. In class, he is always eager to do the experiments.
When it comes to his work, he is still adjusting to the academic expectations. His
assignments are sometimes late and incomplete. He uses the terms we discussed in
class but his explanation and usage of the terms needs to be more accurate. Here is a
sample of his last assignment….And here is a sample of another student’s work so
that you can compare how the answers are formulated.

As you can see, an A answer includes key vocabulary words and demonstrates the
ability to use those words in context. I would like to come up with a plan with you on
how to bring Esteban’s writing up to this level.What are the things that you have
noticed help him be successful?
I would also like to add a few suggestions.We have a resource team that helps
students get caught up or stay on track with their schoolwork. It may be helpful for
Esteban to meet with the resource teacher to get help with this.
(Together with the parents, I will come up with next steps and ways to help Esteban.)

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Remedial support from Practice writing out In the interim, Esteban
Resource team to help answers with the can use graphic
Esteban expand his Resource team; organizers on tests
vocabulary and emphasis on and/or can answer
academic language thoroughness and questions orally
clarity

Overall academic
progress and
performance of a
student who has not
been performing to the
level of his/her
capacity

The Student: Matt is a 5th Grade student. The previous year, he
had A’s and B’s in science. Now that he is in 5th Grade, Matt has
scored D’s and F’s on his last 4 science tests. I have emailed his
parents after each test and provided them with copies of his
tests. The parents do not always respond to the emails. Since I
have not seen an improvement in Matt’s scores, I requested a
conference with the parent. The principal will also attend.
The Issue: Academic underperformance

 copies of Matt’s science tests
 copies of the study guides for the tests
 Matt’s science notebook
 Printout of Matt’s science grades showing his YTD GPA (and my gradebook)
 Emails to parents (backup, if the principal asks to see them, when I brief her before

the meeting)

 A meeting with Matt’s parents will be requested because he has two or more tests
that are atypical for him.

 The principal will also attend because the parents had not been responsive to my
emails. (I email parents whenever a student scores a D or lower.)

Good day Mr. and Mrs. Smith,
Thank you for coming in to discuss how Matt is doing in science class. I enjoy having
Matt in science class. He comes up with interesting questions and ideas that
stimulates good discussions. For example, he recently asked about how microwaves
heat up food when we learned about the different types of heat transfer. However,
compared to last year, I have noticed that his grades have slipped. I know that he is
capable of performing better and so I want to discuss this further with you while he
still has a chance to bring his averaged grades up for this quarter. Some areas where
I think he could improve are on giving thorough explanations to the short answer
questions. This year, we have been focused more on making inferences and on
drawing conclusions from our experiments. I would encourage you to ask him about
what he did in science class so that he could practice explaining what he did and
what he learned from it. It may also help for him to write out his answers as practice.
…After discussing this, I would close the meeting by thanking them again for coming
in and emphasizing that I think Matt is a good student who simply needs to be
nudged along to be more thorough in his responses.

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Since Matt is in aftercare, I Parents will ensure that Matt Matt will study for at least two
will let the aftercare teacher uses the study guide when nights before each test. Matt
know when Matt has studying and will quiz him on can use strategies such as
upcoming tests. Aftercare the material before his tests. making flash cards.
teacher will ensure that Matt They will also ask him to
studies with another student explain the experiments he
in his class. does in class.

The social skills or
conduct of a student
who has been
misbehaving in class

The Student: Julia is a 6th Grade student. She usually gets
good grades in science. But, she has been disruptive in class.
She gets up out of her seat to speak with other classmates, has
to be asked several times to stop talking, and does not follow
classroom procedures.
The Issue: Talking at inappropriate times and failure to follow
classroom rules and procedures

 Julia’s planner which is rule infractions are logged

 With Julia’s parents
 For the last part of the meeting, Julia will be invited to join

Good day Ms. Roberts, it is good to see you again. Julia has been does her work well.
This week, she is the student responsible for feeding the classroom fish. She takes
this responsibility seriously and always reminds me by asking for the fish food at the
start of class. However, she sometimes gets caught up in conversations with others
while she should be doing her work. This distracts her from putting effort into her
classwork. Oftentimes, I have to ask her several times before she refocuses. Because
of her excessive talking, she misses key instructions. I do not want this to affect her
grades since she has been such a good student up to this point. I have tried
changing her seating assignment to help her be more successful. However, she
sometimes gets up and goes to talk with others. So I wanted to reach out to you to
come up with a plan to encourage Julia to follow the school rules.

I would like to use signals with Julia to remind her to stop talking and to refocus on
the task at hand. I think it will help reinforce this if you used similar strategies at
home. Also, it would help me to know what strategies you use with her at home so
that Julia can have consistency with her behavior expectations…
(Once the parent and I have agreed on some strategies, I would invite Julia in to the
room. I would summarize the discussion with her mother – the positive things she
contributes to class as well as the ways in which she disrupts it. I will reiterate the
importance of rules and of all the students following them. Then I will go over with
her the signals I will use as a private language when I am reminding her to refocus.
At the end of the meeting, I will thank them both for their time, stress how much I
enjoy having Julia in class and that I will check in the mother in a few weeks to let
her know how Julia’s behavior has improved.)

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Go over hand signals with Parents will support the Follow up with Julia’s
Julia and behavior teacher by implementing parents on the progress in
expectations. Remind her of rewards at home when Julia her behavior after 3 weeks.
the 1-2 rules that I would gets a good behavior
like her to make a special report and consequences
effort to focus on following. when she doesn’t.

 Garrett, R.,“Tips for Successful Parent-Teacher Conferences,” 2011: Education
World. Retrieved from
http://www.educationworld.com/a_curr/successful_parent_teacher_conferences.s
html

 Jehlen, A.,“How can you deal with angry parents?” NEA. 2008. Retrieved from
http://www.nea.org/home/12800.htm

 Wilson, M.,“Tips for New Teachers: Making the Most of Parent-Teacher
Conferences,” 2011:ASCD Express,Vol. 6, No. 12, Retrieved from
http://www.ascd.org/ascd-express/vol6/612-wilson.aspx