Part II: Arranging Your Room for Parent Conferences

When it comes to arranging your room for conferences, every classroom is different and everyone has his or her own style, so setting up for conferences is clearly a personal matter. Some teachers, moreover, may feel that their everyday classroom is just fine to hold parent-teacher conferences.

Here are a few tips to help make a good impression on parents as well as to create the right atmosphere for holding conferences.

• Leave the chairs off the desks. Have them pushed in, the room neat, and the desks in order.
• Clean the chalkboard or whiteboard. Have information written up on the board for the next day so that you can point out to parents how you display assignments, teach time management, etc.
• Make the conference area relaxing and inviting. You might have a vase of fresh flowers, a small lamp, or a dish of candy at the conference desk.
• Hang a sign on your classroom door with the schedule of conferences so that parents can double-check the conference schedule.
• Have a timer that rings if you have difficulty keeping to the conference schedule. It will remind you that the time has ended and will also notify parents that their time is up.
• Have classroom samples of student work, class books, or artwork for parents to look over while they are waiting to meet with you.

For more tips on how to set up for parent-teacher conferences, check out out the following books and stay tuned for the next post on prior communication and preparation for parent-teacher conferences.