The Secret to Parent Conference Success

Hi this is Jessica Zannini from Notes from the Portable and today I want to tell you about how I was able to increase my classroom community through Student-Led Conferences.

Do the thoughts of upcoming parent conferences fill you with anxiety?  Parent conferences don't have to overwhelm your October schedule!  I am going to let you in on a little secret....have student-led conferences.

I am sure that most of you have had kids waiting in the hallway while you have a parent conference (there are times for those, but not often).  The parent is not really listening to you, because they are worried about what is happening in the hallway, or watching a younger sibling toddle around your classroom.  The kid is panicking thinking of all of the possible things you could be telling their parent(s).  By letting the student lead the conference, the conference becomes more meaningful to all of you!

Here are simple steps to take in letting your students take responsibility for their learning. (Don't forget to download your FREEBIES!) 

1. Start teaching the students how to monitor their own behavior.  Using a weekly self-assessment can help students track and monitor their classroom behaviors.  (Want to learn more?  Read this post Are Your Students Self-Assessing?)
   
2. Collect work samples.  Make it a point to keep examples of student work in a folder. Keep the good and bad samples.  Let the students pick most of the items to put in the folder.  If you start at the beginning of the year, take 1-2 items a week.  If you are starting this the week before conferences, don't fret, just collect what you can.
3. Schedule the conferences well in advance.  Use email, the remind app, or even a good old fashion phone call to remind parents of the upcoming conferences.  Be sure to tell them that the student is leading the conference and should be with them.  In the form you use for sign up, let them know how you will run these student-led conferences and give them an option to set an additional conference or extend the time if they would like to speak with you alone.
4. Practice during class.  Speaking standards are an important part of education. Teach your students how to lead these conferences.
• Model a student-led conference where you are the student and one of your students is the parent.
• Let the students go through their work samples and think about what they want to discuss.
• Let the students practice with a partner.
• Use the weekly assessment or your own weekly documentation system to show growth throughout the first quarter.

More Info on Student-Led Conferences: 

• The great thing about student-led conferences is that you can schedule more than one at a time.  No longer do you have to worry about the times being doubled up and you can easily reschedule missed conferences during the times you have blocked off already.  You can rotate in and out of conferences as needed.  Parents who are early or late can hop right in and not have to stand in the hallway worrying about where and what they must do next.

* This schedule was based on a wonderful school where I had lunches free.  
I also tried to schedule around my family needs too.  

• You know the students who will really need more guidance.  Plan to meet with those students and practice prior to the conference.  Schedule those conferences individually.
• Having the students lead the conferences makes them more authentic.  Parents are interested and engaged.  AND if you have a behavior issue and the discussion is led by the student being honest about what is happening, the issue is typically resolved much quicker (if not immediately).  No longer are you making accusations, the kids are telling what happens.
• You ARE part of the conference.  The difference is that it is no longer your show.  You are a part of the talk, not the only one talking.  If you have more than one conference occurring at one time, treat it as if you are the hostess at a party.  Give everyone the greeting and attention they need and move to the next, then circle back around.  

Click HERE to get your Student-Led Conference FREEBIES.  And if you know others who could use this information, please share it or pass it on!  

I'd love to hear about your student-led conferences experiences.  Please comment below or Keep in Touch by following me on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, Notes from the Portable, Teachers Pay Teachers or Twitter

Class Dojo - Student Stories

Hey there, It's Gary from ScrappyGuy Designs.   My first week with students is in the books for the 2016-2017 year. It was a roller coaster as usual, but we ended in a good place on Friday. One of the reasons for this is that I stuck to my classroom management tool, Class Dojo. There have already been some posts on the Primary Peach about using Class Dojo as positive management. Such as this one from Amy in The Land of 2nd Grade.

The creators of Class Dojo have really been working hard in the past few years to update their site and turn it into a true one stop shop for teachers, students, and parents. They've really listened to feedback and tweaked their site to include so many really useful features.

I love using it because the kids buy into it as soon as they are able to create their own character. They love the creatures and have fun coming up with their own. Also, the message feature is perfect for getting out notes to all the parents. I have it connected to my personal email, which parents can't see, so any replies come directly to my phone. I can choose to handle them immediately,  or wait until school hours. It's definitely made some problems go away for me. The Class Story feature is another favorite as I can upload pictures from the classroom to share with only parents without having to worry about Social Media security.

This year Dojo is including a new feature called Student Story. It works the same as the Class Story, but it is just for each individual student. You can post pictures or share achievements for just that person. I'm already thinking about goal setting for the students so parents can see how they are doing.

What is the best news about this new features is that the STUDENT can now add stories to this area. They can add pictures and other materials directly to their own student story. What a great way to have them submit work in a new and exciting way.

All they have to do is log in to their class dojo, scan the class QR code with a QR reader and it will allow them to post to their own story. They can even do this with their own devices in your classroom or from home.

 

I just think this is a great way to open up a child's work and breach the gap between home and school. Parents get immediate notice that something new is added to their child's story and they can give feedback on projects. This will open up a line of communication that has never been possible before between Teacher, Parent and Student as everyone can see exactly what is occurring in the classroom.

Give it a try!

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A Teaching Pot of Gold: 5 Tips for Efficient Parent Communication

I am so excited to be back here at the Peach sharing some teacher tricks!  My post will hopefully make your year, well...a treasure ;).

When I first started teaching I would always gets annoyed when a child's folder came back fully stuffed with papers, obviously untouched.  I mean really, people?  How hard is it to check a folder?

Now that I am a parent I realize, it can be hard, very hard. And my girls are still in preschool!  I can imagine it will only get more difficult as the girls get older and we add dance and gymnastics and Wednesday night church to our plates.

I guess the trick is to make it as easy on parents as possible.  So how can you make this easy on YOU and the parents?  How can you increase parent involvement and communication? Here are a few easy tips.

When I was teaching I created a blog using Typepad.  It was easy to update during the week and  I was even able to add pictures of students during the week.  I also uploaded a copy of the monthly newsletter.

A friend of mine has created a private Facebook group. She loves it and so do her parents.  It might even be easier than a blog!  You can upload pictures and documents in a group and even add events to remind parents of special events like Open House, conferences, etc.

If you choose to do something online, just make sure the district approves this form of communication.  You also are going to want some kind of release form for photographs. Your school or district may already require one. Here are two examples I found. You can see them here and here.

I am sure you have heard all about Remind. It is an awesome and FREE way for teachers to keep in contact with parents. You can send text straight to your parent's phones while keeping your personal phone number private.  It is an ingenious idea! It would be great for reminders of dates, special events, returning library books a folders.

Send home sweet notes to the kids.  Parents love knowing positive things about their children.  I know it can be hard to find time to do, but is so important. Did you decorate your door in the beginning of the year?  I can't find a picture of mine, but here is an example I found online:

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Instead of just tossing the die cut (or in this case the sweet little owl) into the trash or folder when you done, keep them! Write a note to the child on the back and staple it in their agenda randomly.  I kept all mine in plastic baggie.  When I had an extra second or two, I would pull out one or two.  Then I would write a note to the child and staple it in the agenda.  Stapling usually made it stay there long enough for parents to see it, too! 

 It was a win-win!  The kids felt good, the parents felt good, and was super simple for me since I had made the door at the beginning of the year.

Do you send home a newsletter?  I did one monthly.  Actually, I didn't.  My co-teacher did.  I was terrible at writing the newsletters. She was amazing.  We were a pretty good team! LOL! I struggled with newsletters because I felt parents did not read them.  When I wrote them, I only send home a newsletter once a month. She wrote one EVERY week.  I am telling you.  She was good! She included:

• homework for the next week
• specials rotation (art, PE, etc because it changed every week)
• a calendar of upcoming events
• important notes
• enrichment ideas

Here is a sample of what ours looked like in February 4th, 2013.

She did a great job.

If you worry about parents reading your newsletter, I LOVE this article by Jennifer from Cult of Pedagogy.  She did a guest post for Laura Candler all about how to get parents to read your newsletter.  She even included FREE newsletter templates!

Any tips I left out?  How do you communicate with parents effectively?

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