Parents and Teachers Join for Conferences to Support Students.
Launch the media gallery 1 playerBy Lauren Delka
Held in the gym, Pierce High School teachers met with the parents of their students for conferences about the students’ activity and general performance in each class last Wednesday from 10:30-6:30.
While at the event, Amber and Tyler Smeal, parents of a freshman and seventh grader, express their appreciation for the conference and the time change.
“For working all day, that makes it a challenge, but the lines have been way shorter after work than they had been in previous years when it was just at night,” A. Smeal states.
“It's harder to get here, obviously, during the day, because everybody works, but at the same time, when I got here tonight, at 5 p.m. I could just jump in anywhere I wanted to. We flew right through all of our teachers,” T. Smeal said.
Of the 254 high school student parents, 189 attended the conferences, making 74% of students' families present. If parents showed up, their kid(s) would receive a 5-point bonus coupon to be used once on any test this fall semester.
Katie Brummels, teacher at Pierce High School, discusses the importance of holding parent-teacher conferences.
“It's always good to talk to parents, especially in the first couple months of the school year, as kids are getting back into the school routine, and check in with parents to let them know how they're doing, what they could be working on, what you're working on in your classroom. Showcasing that a little bit is important.”
A. Smeal lets us know why being present in a student’s school life is important.
“It's good to have that feedback to provide to the kids, to have the touch base and have the parent and the teacher be on the same page, to help the kid be as successful as they can,” she says.
