virtual parent-teacher conferences

[Kestrel]

I'm so mad I could spit nails. I got this lovely email from the school:

Monday, November 23 is for homeroom parent-teacher conferences. At your conference time, click on link...Ect)

Tuesday 24 and Wednesday 25 are available to schedule with your student's classroom teachers. If your student is earning a D or F.... please sign up...ect.)

So - all parents get a 15min conference with the homeroom teacher - who they see 15min per day.

IF your student is earning a D or F, you get a TEN MINUTE conference with that teacher. What a big help.

And that is all.

[Liziz]

I'm so mad I could spit nails. I got this lovely email from the school:

Monday, November 23 is for homeroom parent-teacher conferences. At your conference time, click on link...Ect)

Tuesday 24 and Wednesday 25 are available to schedule with your student's classroom teachers. If your student is earning a D or F.... please sign up...ect.)

So - all parents get a 15min conference with the homeroom teacher - who they see 15min per day.

IF your student is earning a D or F, you get a TEN MINUTE conference with that teacher. What a big help.

And that is all.

I know you were paraphrasing, but based on how you wrote it, it seems like they're saying you *must* sign up if your student is getting a D or an F, but that you can sign up if your student is doing better than that. At the schools my DDs have attended I've had several times where I've been told some variation of "conferences required for students underperforming, optional for everyone else". But I often still want to talk to the teacher, and just ask to be signed up as well. If you want to meet with those teachers, I say you just go sign up!

[Kestrel]

Nope, refused. "At this time, conferences are limited to those receiving a D Or F, plus special needs students."

[infocrazy]

FWIW I have never thought much of conferences...always terrible timing for me, particularly with 4 kids, and always feel rushed. I prefer to send the teacher an email with my concerns/questions with the opportunity to list all of them and/or perfect the wording. This also gives the teachers more time to think about the response instead of being on the fly. I am 50/50 on struggling students lol.

[ett]

Nope, refused. "At this time, conferences are limited to those receiving a D Or F, plus special needs students."

Can you set up another time to talk to the teacher? I can't imagine any teacher refusing to talk to a parent on the phone, regardless of what the student's grade is.

[mom2binsd]

Can you set up another time to talk to the teacher? I can't imagine any teacher refusing to talk to a parent on the phone, regardless of what the student's grade is.

This, I know many many teachers, have worked in schools for 15 years, I can't imagine a teacher will refuse to have a conference with you at another time. I think they put out those emails but they are just guidelines. To be honest, many parents don't even bother, the parents of the BBB are NOT typical. A teacher friend spent hours and hours doing a parent program virtual presentation, she has 90 students (she teaches French to multiple classes), and about 15 total tuned into each presentation (and this a high SES school).

[jenmcadams]

Ugh - that is hard. We had virtual conferences for my HS Sophomore and we were able to schedule 10-15 min with each teacher if we wanted. They were actually great and in some ways more valuable than the typical cattle call conferences that happen in the HS gym normally where you're lucky if you get 5 min. I'm sure they were exhausting for the teachers though.

[ett]

Ugh - that is hard. We had virtual conferences for my HS Sophomore and we were able to schedule 10-15 min with each teacher if we wanted. They were actually great and in some ways more valuable than the typical cattle call conferences that happen in the HS gym normally where you're lucky if you get 5 min. I'm sure they were exhausting for the teachers though.

Wow, we don't even have conferences here in the high school or middle school. There were only scheduled conferences in elementary school.

[essnce629]

Wow, we don't even have conferences here in the high school or middle school. There were only scheduled conferences in elementary school.

My son is in 12th grade and his school has parent teacher conferences every trimester with each teacher in 15 minute increments. Same with my middle schooler (6th grade). Private and charter schools.

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[KrisM]

How frustrating!

Ours were also virtual, but anyone could sign up for them. I liked them being virtual and I think most teachers did as well. The only one I couldn't get a time for was math for DS2. It's a virtual class, so the teacher isn't someone we've met, but I had some questions. The teacher gave me a few times that worked for him and set it up for the 2 of us to Zoom. It worked out great. So, definitely reach out and hopefully the teachers will get you a time slot to meet.