A study examined the effectiveness of teaching five adolescents with mental retardation and behavior disorders to lead their own Individualized Education Program (IEP) meetings. Students learned to introduce others at their IEP meetings, review their past IEP goals, discuss their future IEP goals, and close their meetings. (Contains references.)…

Reports on a study of "parent evenings," or parent-teacher consultations, examining the structure using audio-recordings. Identifies similarities with doctor-patient consultations. Argues that teachers do not maintain control of the conferences and that issues of power, identity, competence, and moral conflict are at stake. (CMK)

Parent-teacher conferences are an opportunity to communicate a belief in the value of a successful partnership between home and school. Productive parent-teacher conferences require effective communication techniques. Teachers can facilitate the process with active listening, positive use of attending skills, good questioning technique, and…

Recent Latino immigrants may not realize that their children will be asked to relinquish collectivist values in pursuit of educational achievement. Finding child-led parent-teacher conferences incompatible with Latino values, a teacher training with the "Bridging Cultures Project" developed a less-threatening group-conference format. (10…

A Rochester, New York, elementary school attributes its high parent involvement to a turnaround strategy involving newsletters, phone calls, parent-teacher conferences, surveys, parent-education classes, parent-involvement activities, special announcements, participation rewards, informal contacts, a parent resource center, home visits, volunteer…

Since students possess intimate knowledge about their academic progress, they should be invited to participate in, or even lead, parent-teacher conferences. Interested middle schools should consider piloting their models, focus on the conference model process, have students identify personal goals, clearly define participants' roles, and evaluate…

Discusses a method for assessing, evaluating, recording, and reporting pupil progress in kindergarten classes. Describes how continuous assessment and evaluation becomes part of the instruction process, and is conducted through teacher logbooks, skills checklists, portfolio folders, and "pupil passport" folders forwarded to first-grade teachers.…

This study examined the development and effects of school-wide student-led conferencing (SLC) at four middle schools across four states, namely California, Oregon, Texas, and Washington. All site administrators, 30 teachers, and 524 middle school students and their parents in 30 classrooms participated in this study. Methodology included student…

This case study investigated parental perceptions of students with autism towards the IEP meeting from one family support group chapter in the north Texas area. Participants were asked to share their experiences of previous IEP meetings and to provide input regarding not only measures that school districts may take towards improving IEP meetings,…

This book helps parents develop good working relationships with their children's teachers and become involved with the school. Suggestions are provided for dealing with school bureaucracy and individual teachers. Emphasis is placed on parent empathy with the teacher's role. Topics discussed include: skills specific to effective communication with…

Student-led parent conferences allow students to gain significant insights about themselves as learners in ways traditional parent-teacher conferences do not. This guide draws on two teachers' experience to help other teachers implement student-led parent conferences that will enhance parent involvement and student learning. Chapter 1, "Why…

The purpose of this practicum was to broaden and strengthen the classroom assessment of literacy development in a third grade. Goals were to implement authentic assessment techniques, to involve both students and parents in goal setting and ongoing evaluation processes, and to develop writing portfolios exhibiting a wide range of student…

This newsletter offers practical guidelines to parents of children with special needs of ways to get the school year off to a good start. Such children's school-related worries as fears of getting lost or of not making friends are noted. Specific suggestions are offered to help in the areas of school separation, making friends, and school…

Although much is written about the importance of parent/teacher communication with emphasis on the significant impact of parent/teacher conferences, teachers report a lack of formal training. Neither institutions of higher education nor the public schools appear to provide clear policy and procedure for parent/teacher conferences. Thus, teachers…

The parent-teacher conference offers an opportunity to improve communication between home and school. In addition, it is an ideal time for discussing how the home environment can compliment and reinforce the work accomplished at school. Thus, when parents ask what they can do at home to help, the teacher can respond with specific suggestions for…