Teachers Tune In To Parents Concerns
By Jack Jarnis
Four Corners Elementary changed up things a bit on the first day of school. We have always had orientation that allowed families to come in with their student, meet the teacher, get the school photo taken, complete a vision test, and meet with our school nurse and PTA, along with other stops.
This year our goal was to reach out to families and engage them right away with parent-teacher conferences that were parent led. Families had the opportunity to share information about their child, their family, any concerns or special needs that they had, and it gave the teacher early insight into their students.
“It was a time for parents to talk and teachers to listen!”
Parents were also given a map with a check list of stations, and a spot for stickers to be attached at each station. Student were able to win prizes if they got stickers for visiting all the stations.
We had an amazing turn out and it helped our students and staff be better prepared for the start of school. Our teachers enjoyed the positive energy to start out the school year, and enjoyed the chance to get to know the students better early on.
We conducted an online survey with families to find out what the overall impression was of the new format, and we are pleased with the results. We had 65 responses, and 92% had a very good or good response to the overall experience and 97% had a positive response about the parent-teacher conferences.
Parents appreciated having the one-on-one meeting time with their child’s teacher, how quickly they were able to get through stations, and having maps with a check-off sheet for the kids.
We also received great comments about what we can improve upon for next year. The first day committee will be meeting soon to find ways to implement some of those changes.