How to Prepare for Parent Teacher Conferences

Meeting with parents can be such a nerve-wracking experience, let alone meeting with ALL of the parents of your students in short succession. I have found that being organized and prepared goes a long way in making the conference experience less stressful. In this post, I’m going to share tips about how to prepare for parent teacher conferences so you can have a smooth experience!

9 Tips to Help You Prepare for Parent Teacher Conferences

1. Set Up a Schedule

The first tip is to be mindful of how you set up your schedule, if that’s an option in your district. Whenever possible, be sure to give yourself breaks throughout the evening to help you feel less stressed.

You can also think about where you’d like to place your tricky conferences in relation to your other meetings. For example, you might want to have an empty slot before a conference that you know might be more challenging. This will give you time to gather your thoughts before the parents arrive.

2. Send Home a Reminder and Questionnaire

Once the conference times are set up, be sure to send home a reminder note with the date and time. This is also a great time to send home a questionnaire for parents to fill out and send back before conferences.

Not everyone will fill it out, and that’s okay! The parents who have something weighing on their minds often will, and those are the questionnaires that are so helpful! You’ll be able to have a better idea of what parents are going to ask you during the conferences, so you can feel more prepared. This also helps parents feel like they're part of a partnership with you.

3. Grab a Notepad for Additional Questions

It’s okay if you don’t have all of the answers! That’s what a notepad is for! Instead of leaving post-it notes all over your table, grab a designated notepad that will sit next to you during conferences. That way, when parents have a question you can’t answer in the moment, you can say: “That’s a great question! Let me check on that and I’ll get back to you.”

4. Create a Conference Folder for Each Student

This is one of the best things that you can do to look more professional and prepared for parent teacher conferences. At one point, I prepared the different reports that I needed to hand out to parents and kept them in different piles. While I had taken the time to organize the papers by conference time, the gathering of the papers from each pile with parents in front of me still sent an “I’m not prepared” message. 

Creating a conference folder for each student will be so helpful in staying organized during conferences! That way, if specialists or other staff hand you notes or reports that they want you to share at conferences, you can stick them in the folder so they’re ready to go. 

5. Prepare Glows and Grows

A very important form that you’ll want to include in each conference folder is a “Glow and Grow” conference form. This is such a great way to frame the feedback that you’re going to give to parents about their child. The visual of the tree is a great reminder that students are at school to learn and grow, and all of the feedback at conferences is designed to help them do that.

6. Have Students Complete a Self-Evaluation

A self-evaluation form is another helpful addition to a conference folder. This doesn’t have to be complicated; a simple survey is perfect! Self-assessment can help to break the ice at conferences because it sets the tone for the rest of the discussion. 

For example, if a student discloses on their form that they don’t like school, you can look at the rest of the information at conferences through that lens. You and the parents can try to identify ways to support the student so they can like coming to school.

7. Have a Bowl of Mints at the Table

This is a small but very appreciated thing that you can do for conferences! I always liked to put a cute sign next to the mints, which invited parents to grab one while they were there.

8. Put a Sign on the Door

A sign on the door is always helpful for the parents who are waiting. This can remind them that if the door is closed, a conference is in session. I always liked to add a little note that if we’re running a certain amount of time behind, that they can knock on the door to help us stay on track. Those knocks can really come in handy during chatty or challenging conferences!

9. Invite a Staff Member for Additional Support If Needed

Speaking of difficult conferences: Don’t feel like you have to be alone in tricky situations. If you can sense that a conference will be challenging in one way or another, feel free to ask another staff member to be there with you.

Printable Forms for Parent Teacher Conferences

If you would like to use some of the printables that I mentioned in this post, be sure to check out this time-saving set of parent teacher conference forms. These editable forms have everything you need to set up organized, successful conferences.

Conference forms can be tricky because each teacher and classroom has unique needs. These editable templates and forms will help you create the exact forms you need when meeting with parents. If you’d like to take a closer look at everything included in this resource and what is customizable, you can find it in the Teaching Exceptional Kinders shop or on TPT.

More Conference Tips for Teachers

If you’d like even more tips to help you prepare for parent teacher conferences, be sure to check out this video!

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