3 Questions to Ask at the End of the Year Parent-Teacher Conference
The end of the school year is always a busy time. Schools are administering their end of the year (EOY) statewide assessments, teachers are completing their EOY summative classroom assessments, data is being analyzed to consider placement for the upcoming school year. Lastly, teachers are preparing for the final parent-teacher conference. I am going to share with you three questions you should ask at the EOY parent-teacher conference.
3 Questions to Ask at the End of the Year Parent-Teacher Conference
Which reading standards has my child mastered?
Without getting too technical, each grade level has standards of learning for all subjects. The standards are baselines that students must master by the end of the school year. The standards vary by grade level and content area. There are some standards that are more important than others. All grade level standards are available to view online at CCSSI_ELA Standards.indd (ccsso.org) however, feel free to ask your child’s teacher which standards they have mastered and which standards they still need help with. For instance, your student may have mastered reading short vowel words but has not mastered reading words that contain long vowel sounds. Lastly, you want to know which skills your child has mastered so that you can celebrate those standards that your child can complete independently.
What are the next steps if summer school or retention is recommended?
To be honest, retention is such a highly contested area. I am not going to spend too much time discussing this topic because in some states the school can ONLY recommend retention but the parent has the final say. Moreover, you do have more options if summer school is recommended. First of all, please be aware summer school, in some cases, is not a quick fix for specific literacy deficits. Usually with summer school classes, the staff is given a set of standards to teach over a 6 week period and these standards may not be specific to your child’s needs. Feel free to inquire to make sure the summer school staff is reviewing the literacy standards that YOUR child needs.
What can I do to prevent a literacy “summer slide?”
You might hear the term “summer slide” mentioned at the EOY conference. What exactly does it mean? Summer slide is a REAL thing. It happens when students lose two month’s of instruction due to not being in school during the summer months. The biggest piece of advice I can share is make sure your child reads during the summer. Have your little learner read a book a week or every two weeks. Also, it doesn’t necessarily have to be a hard copy text, it can be any piece of grade level appropriate text online. In addition, support your local library. They always offer monthly reading events for children. Visit the bookstores, museums and any other place that is print rich. If you are going on a road trip have your child bring their favorite book and read while making the trip to your destination. Lastly, hiring a reading tutor is a great option. Your child will most likely have 1:1 attention and assessments will be given in order to really focus on your child’s literacy needs.
I hope these questions helped to ease your mind for the EOY conference. Feel free to jot them down and take notes at the last conference to ensure you gather all the information you need to assist your learner and possibly pass this information to their tutor. If you would like more tips or want to know more information about summer tutoring click the link in bio to be added to the summer literacy jumpstart or book a discovery call to find out more about tutoring services or go ahead and click the link to schedule a session today.
Happy Learning,
Shannon
