Middle School Parent-Teacher Conference Guide

Want to be prepared for your parent-teacher conference in middle school? Middle schoolers need supportive family engagement that promotes their growing autonomy and provides structure. This gets more complex now that your early adolescent has multiple teachers. It’s more important than ever to establish a good rapport and open lines of communication with your early adolescent’s teachers, just as you did in elementary school.

Here are some tips that experts suggest for how families can make the most of a Parent-Teacher Conference:

1. Learn about your early adolescent’s strengths and weaknesses in each class.
2. Ask about homework expectations in each subject and give feedback about how homework is going at home.
3. Expect each teacher to have a unique view of your early adolescent.
4. Ask about social-emotional concerns.
5. Bring your early adolescent and involve him/her in the conversation.
6. Ask about extra help and resources.
7. Focus on building a partnership. If you aren’t able to attend in-person conferences, ask for a phone call or a virtual meeting.
8. Be on time. Each teacher’s schedule may be very full for the event.
9. Be prepared by knowing your early adolescent’s grades in each class.
10. Bring questions. Write them down so you remember.
11. Be collaborative and focus on mutual respect and shared goals.
12. Share insights into your early adolescent at home. Bring up anything going on at home that may affect his/her progress.
13. Make a plan for two-way communication going forward.

Please share: