Correct Me If I’m Wrong, But Aren’t Parent-Teacher Conferences Part of the Job?

Ever have those moments when something seems so crazy and so wrong that you fall into that trap of optimism and naïveté, convinced that finally,…

A Teacher Asked About My Child’s Hopes and Dreams and It Changed Everything

As a child in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, I did not have a good experience in school. My teachers did not understand my ADHD, and I…

Parent-Teacher Conferences Might Suck, But We Still Have to Show Up

David McGuire, a school leader in Indianapolis, asked the Twitterati this week what does it take to get parents to attend conferences with their children’s’ teachers? I…

Every Parent-Teacher Conference Should Look Like This

I have a confession to make. I am an educator who doesn’t enjoy participating in parent-teacher conferences as a parent. Our son is a junior…

4 Tips for Parents to Get the Most out of Parent-Teacher Conferences

Many schools are preparing for their first conferences with parents. Unlike Back-to-School Night where parents receive general information about the school, a conference with your…

These Parent-Teacher Conferences Are Harder to Get Into Than a Jimmy Buffett Concert

First, a 30-minute student-led parent-teacher conference with one child’s homeroom teacher. Then, six five-minute conferences with another son’s individual subject teachers. And lastly, a 10-minute…

White Teacher, Here’s How You Can Successfully Partner With Black Families

The show was going really well. We were in Pittsburgh, taping a live 8 Black Hands podcast episode at the State of Black Learning Conference,…

Why We Need to Stop Thinking About Students in Terms of Strengths and Weaknesses

My son is a freshman in high school and this felt like my first report card pick up all over again. While I have access…

#MyBlackHistory Is Making Sure Parents Like My Mom—An Immigrant Housekeeper—Have Ways to Be Involved in Their Child’s Education

My mother immigrated to America from Haiti in 1971 at the age of 20. “Ingrid,” she would say, “make sure you do what the teacher says, without school your life will be hard like mine.”…

How Parents Benefit From School Accountability

If you’re a parent like me, at the start of each school year you eagerly learn all about the course content your child will study,…