parent Conferences in our school district and basically covered in the teachers contracts. their contracts limit the amount of time they can stay after and still get paid. granted the teachers who are in it for the kids do it as long as thye want.This year the distric is doing a survey in all four elementary schools to see how parents feel and then they can go to the board from there, it is being handled by the second man in charge so as far as our principal It seems to be higher up than her position.
Parent/Teacher conferences are partly a teacher contract negotiation matter and definately a district level issue. Your principal may feel as helpless as you. PTOs are part voice of the parents, but we should be a solution. How can we help the teachers during conferences? We bring in goodies and dinner so the teachers are feed during their long hours at the school during conferences. Can we help the time be more efficient?
I get 10x more from my teachers passing them in the hall when I'm there volunteering than at conferences. Tell the folks to help out in the classroom and there are no mysteries about what is going on with their kids at school. Maybe 20 minutes once a month to read the class a book before they head to work can give them some insight. And for the rest that really can't get out of their schedule can fit their time in during the conferences twice a year, to talk with their children's teacher.
I give our Principal (sorry, but he's a saint of a principal) heads up when I hear things. He does the same for our group. We talk about issues as a group and see if we can work out a solution. Our Superintenient has a Parents Council with members from all the PTOs and PTAs and gives us a chance to ask questions or make comments and we can filter info back to our parents.
The PTO/School relationship is unique! I am going to help put the principal's position in perspective: he/she is in a classic "middle manager" position. They are government employees, a site manager responsible for the education AND health/safety of hundreds of children. They are accountable to complex bureaucratic educational regulations and state and federal child welfare laws. (also, in our area, they are on year-to-year contracts without any job security; imagine how you would handle your "business" of 20-50 employees, 100-500 "customers", a site worth millions of dollars in equipment and structure, and responsible to every citizen!) I often marvel at just how wonderfully things do get done, on a day-to-day basis, in our public schools.
Quite often things that make sense to you as a parent are a piece of the big picture that is public education.
I think we, as parent group officers, are so emotionally involved in helping our kids, but also must exercise patience and creativity in communicating and working with the public school system. The PTO's role is bake sales AND serving as a liason between parents and school!
Hang in there, come at issues from different angles. Parent/teacher conferences are a policy thing and might be dictated at the district level, so work from there. Ask questions, and realize that the answers are just that: answers, not always solutions.
We are there to help the principal/staff AND the kids.
Cindy,
Your parents should be encouraged to voice their policy concerns and desires to the Principal as well as the School Board. I've found that carbon copying emails to each do wonders. Also, on an individual basis, most teachers will attempt to meet with parents as much as they can. Remembering that everyone have hectic schedules, I stress emailing issues as much as possible to teachers, administrators and the PTO.
Our principal is pretty much the head officer,but she is very supportive. She sits in at the meetings and answers the "red tape" questions we often have during business.
Parent-Teacher conferences should be held at the discretion of the principal and teachers. I am sure your teachers are willing to talk the parents anytime. That is one reason I used to encourage parents to come to meetings. The only thing we did at P-T Conferences was provide refreshments, and that is just if we wanted too.
