How to Get the Most Out of a Parent-Teacher Conference: Questions You Should Be Asking

Although parent-teacher conferences tend to be a short opportunity to speak with your child’s teacher and learn about their progress as a student, there is still an opportunity to make the most out of it. If you are looking to be hands on with your child’s education, learn about their progress and where there can be room for improvement; the objective should be to go in with an agenda. Don’t just wait to find out what the teacher has to say. Come in with your on set of questions based off of what you already know to be true about your child. This will give you insight into how your child behaves in the classroom versus at home. You can also give the teacher a little insight into how your child behaves at home. This allows both parties to gain an understanding of the best possible way to teach a child and allow them to reach their full potential. It’s also important that prior to the conference you have been keeping up with each day of your child’s life by asking them questions such as “How was school?” and “What happened at school today?” that way if there are any concerns or issues about something, you are prepared to bring them up and ask questions.

Here are a list of starter questions you can think about asking at the next parent-teacher conference, but again the best way to make the most of this is to tailor the questions to fit your individual child:

1. How is my child doing socially/emotionally?
2. What are my child’s academic strengths and weaknesses?
3. Is my child performing at his or her’s grade level?
4. Are there any areas my child can use extra help in?
5. How can I help at home?
6. What’s the best way to communicate with you?
7. How can I stay on top of what is happening in the classroom?
8. Is my child giving his or her best effort?

It may also be a good idea to take notes of everything addressed in the conference so that it can be referenced at a later date. You can also schedule a follow-up if you would like more time with the teacher or would like to see if your child has made any improvements since the last conference.

If you are looking for more personalized questions that more closely fit the concerns you have for your child, click here.