Rachel Cason

Parent Conference Write-up and Reflection

Invitation Email:
Dear Mrs. Raven,
Good afternoon!
As the first term of second grade draws to a close, I wanted to give you an udate a!out "ay#s
rogress in the classroom. $is reading s%ills continue to imrove, and he consistently erforms
well on reading fluency and comrehension assessments. $e also demonstrates curiosity and
e&citement a!out science, articularly when we discuss animals.
$owever, "ay has had trou!le with the new math concets we have e&lored this year. $e is
easily frustrated when resented with an unfamiliar tas%, and his frustration often leads to
disrutive !ehavior. 'his !ehavior often !ecomes aggressive, and he has trou!le ma%ing friends
as a result. I have attached a rogress reort that you can review as a resource descri!ing "ay#s
academic and social !ehavior this term.
Is there a time this wee% when you would !e availa!le to meet for a conference( I would li%e to
discuss "ay#s social !ehavior, attitude, and math s%ills, and I would love to have your inut to
figure out what would !e most helful for "ay. I am availa!le this 'uesday, Aril ), around ))
a.m. if that time is convenient for you. If not, I am also availa!le after school from *:++ until
,:*+ or during my lanning eriod from )-:++ to ):++.
.lease let me %now what time would !e !est for you to meet with me. /e will meet in the third
floor oen area of the 0rlean 1ullard 1eeson 2chool of Education. I loo% forward to tal%ing with
you, and together I hoe to find ways to ma%e "ay#s classroom e&erience a success!
2incerely,
Rachel 3ason
Attachment: .rogress Reort
4ollow56 Email:
Dear Mrs. Raven,
'han% you so much for meeting with me today! I am glad we were a!le to discuss "ay7s
difficulties in math, as well as his frustration in class and his occasional out!ursts. As always, it
is so helful for me as a teacher to understand what is going on in my students7 home lives, and I
areciate the information you shared with me today.
1eginning this wee%, I will set u "ay7s chec%list to hel %ee him on tas% during class time. I7ll
let you %now how this imacts his !ehavior and academic erformance! Also, I am including a
lin% to the online math games we discussed today. 'hese should !e engaging for "ay since he
li%es animals so much, and they may !e useful during "ay7s homewor% time with his !rother.
Again, than% you so much for ta%ing time out of your schedule to meet with me! .lease feel free
to as% me any 8uestions you may have!
Rachel 3ason
Animal Math Games:
htt:99www.otionsanimal.com9elementary5education5animal5math5for5%ids9
Agenda:
Aril ), -+),
.arent5'eacher 3onference: "ay Raven
Agenda:
I. /elcome9Introductions
II. 2trengths in the 3lassroom
a. Reading
!. 2cience
III. .ro!lems in the 3lassroom
a. Aggressive9disrutive !ehavior
!. 4rustration with math
c. E&amles: /or% samles, rogress reorts
I:. /hat is "ay#s !ehavior li%e at home(
Is there anything going on at home that I should !e aware of(
:. /hat can we do to hel( /hat goals can we set for "ay(
:I. 2uggested Resources
a. Animal Math Games: htt:99www.otionsanimal.com9elementary5education5
animal5math5for5%ids9
!. 3lassroom 3hec%list
:II. 'han% ;ou93lose
Resources:
Animal Math Games: htt:99www.otionsanimal.com9elementary5education5animal5math5for5
%ids9
2ince "ay is interested in science, articularly animals, I wanted to find a way to incororate
animals into his math ractice. 'hese games are all animal5themed, and they cover a variety of
!asic math s%ills. 'his we!site could !e used during "ay#s homewor% time with his !rother or as
e&tra ractice anytime "ay needs reinforcement at home.
3lassroom 3hec%list:
"ay#s aggressive out!ursts tend to occur when he gets frustrated or off5tas% while doing his
classwor%. 'his chec%list could !e laminated and laced on his des% to hel %ee him on trac%.
Each day, I could write in the tas%s he needed to comlete, and "ay could move the slider and
chec% off each tas% as he comleted it. 'his way, he might !e a!le to focus on accomlishing the
tas% at hand, rather than getting distracted.
.rogress Reorts and /or% 2amles:
In my invitation email, I included a coy of "ay#s first grade rogress reort for Mrs. Raven to
review. 'his information heled her understand how "ay was struggling in the classroom !efore
she came to the conference. During the conference, I rovided her with wor% samles and more
rogress reorts so that she could get a good idea of what e&actly "ay had trou!le with.
4eed!ac% 2heet:
Reflection
As a future teacher, a huge art of my <o! will !e to interact with arents and ma%e sure
that their children receive the !est ossi!le care at home and at school. 'herefore, arent5teacher
conferences are essential to the child7s success in !oth arenas. /or%ing with arents is one asect
of teaching that I feel most arehensive a!out, and I %now that much of my e&erience in this
area will not come until I actually !ecome a teacher. $owever, this moc% arent5teacher
conference was great ractice for the conferences I will have in the future.
During this rocess, I learned the imortance of two main asects of arent interaction:
first, the teacher must !e well5reared for a conference. Meeting with a arent to discuss his or
her child is not something to !e ta%en lightly. 'he teacher needs to have an agenda and evidence
of the student7s !ehavior or wor% so that the conference will !e efficient and on5tas%. It is also
imortant to ma%e sure the arent is reared, so the teacher needs to rovide lenty of
information to the arent ahead of time. 'his way, !oth arties can come to the conference
%nowing what needs to !e discussed, and the arent will !e a!le to tell that the teacher cares
enough a!out the student to ut in the effort to reare for the discussion.
2econd, the teacher must !e oen and understanding toward the arent. .arents are the
true e&erts on their children, and teachers must !e aware that there may !e issues at home that
influence the child7s erformance at school. Instead of thin%ing that they %now !est, teachers
must !e willing to wor% alongside arents to reach solutions. 'o do this, teachers need to
aroach the conference with a ositive attitude and a caring sirit.
1efore the moc% conference, I was concerned a!out dealing with a arent who was
confrontational or angry. I am a very non5confrontational erson, so I am not sure of the !est
way to handle a arent who is angry with me. 'han%fully, this was not a ro!lem at my moc%
conference. $owever, I %now that it could very well haen once I !ecome a teacher. If this
haens, I will use the same calm, understanding aroach that I used in this conference, and I
will as% for hel if necessary. Another concern I had was that I didn7t %now what %ind of
resources would !e !est to rovide. I did not want to overwhelm the arent with we!sites or
ideas, so I only attached the child7s rogress reort to my first email. I li%e the idea of showing
the arent e&actly what I have noticed in the classroom !efore the conference, and then we were
a!le to discuss resources for solutions during the conference.
My conference went e&tremely well. 'he arent was friendly and understanding, and she
immediately told me that "ay7s grades were ro!a!ly sliing !ecause of her divorce that was in
rogress. "ay7s !rother had !een heling with homewor% instead of the arent, and his frustration
with family ro!lems ro!a!ly contri!uted to his !ehavioral out!ursts at school. /ith this
information, I was a!le to recommend some online math games for "ay and his !rother to use
during homewor% time, and we discussed the ossi!ility of using a tas% chec%list to hel him
focus in class. 'he arent was easy to tal% to and very helful, and while I %now that not all
arents will react this way, this conference was a good first ractice to acclimate me to wor%ing
with arents.