What to Expect From a Pre-K Parent-Teacher Conference

A pre-kindergarten parent-teacher conference gives you the opportunity to sit down with your child's teacher to discuss his school experiences. Sometimes this means sharing your thoughts and observations and discussing your child's success. Sometimes it means discussing more challenging topics. Either way, a successful parent-teacher conference should focus on ways to improve your child's experiences and build important skills.

  1. Sharing Success

    • Your child's teacher will share your child's progress in the classroom and inform you of areas in which your child has met success. This involves social, emotional and academic skill assessments, which often includes a checklist of skills your child has mastered. The teacher may provide you with a written summary of your child's progress and provide samples of your child's work. This may include drawings, writing or art projects.

    Sharing Concerns

    • Sharing areas of concern and discussing skills that your child has not mastered or continues to struggle with is also an important part of the parent-conference. This is your chance to express any concerns you have about your child and her progress in school. The teacher may discuss behavior as well as academic issues. You may want to share any circumstances outside of school that might be influencing his progress, or its lack thereof.

    Building Rapport

    • The parent-teacher conference provides an opportunity for you and your child's teacher build a relationship and become more comfortable with each other. Making a concentrated effort to work together for your child's benefit is important.

    Planning

    • Part of the parent-teacher conference should also include making plans for the future. Your child's teacher will probably discuss new skills your child will be learning in the coming months and ways you can help reinforce those skills at home. If the teacher does not include future plans in the conference, it is up to you to ask.

    Your Child

    • Some parent-teacher conferences include the child. This allows your child to "show off" his accomplishments, which likely include artwork and other projects. He may enjoy the opportunity to show you the room and his work area and cubby. If you child is present for the parent-teacher conference, use caution in addressing his shortcomings as this can cast a negative light on school. Many teachers provide an area for children to play with clay, building bricks or puzzles and allow children to read in the class library while you discuss your child's progress. If you are unsure whether the teacher expects you to bring your child with you, it is up to you to ask ahead of time.

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