Kaylee Neubacher PTC

Invitation Email

Ms. Raven,

My name is Kaylee Neubacher and I am Jays second grade teacher. I would like to
invite you to a parent/teacher conference to discuss Jays progress. This conference is an
opportunity for you to learn about Jays academic, behavioral, and social progress he has made
this nine weeks and address any related questions or concerns you have.
Academically, Jay is doing very well in Science and enjoys reading books about animals.
He is a very strong reader! However, I am noticing some behavioral problems that are beginning
to affect his academic work. During our parent/teacher conference, I would like to discuss these
behavioral issues further. With your support, I believe we can address the behavior issues and
resolve them.
I have scheduled our parent/teacher conference for Thursday, May 5th, 2016 at 9:15 am.
Please contact me if this time does not work. If need be, we can reschedule for a time that is
more accommodating.
I look forward to meeting with you to discuss Jays progress in my class. If you have any
questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me so we can discuss further.

Sincerely,
Kaylee Neubacher

Kaylee Neubacher PTC

Follow-Up Email

Ms. Raven,
Thank you for coming to the parent teacher conference! I know that with your continued
support, we can help Jay with his behavior in class. I look forward to scheduling a time for you,
Jay, and me to sit down and create his personal contract. Please email me a date and a time that
is convenient for you.
Sincerely,
Kaylee Neubacher

Kaylee Neubacher PTC

Parent Teacher Conference and Agenda

-9:15 pickup parent from upstairs table
-Good morning! + Introduce yourself
- Thank you for meeting with me today, I know you have a busy schedule.
-Arrive at room 316
-parent and teacher sit next to one another
-teacher has their resource folder out
-Begin conference
Start:
-Jay is doing very well in science
-He is very engaged in the science lessons, especially when they are about animals
-The other day we were learning about the ocean and the animals in the ocean
-He asked a lot of questions, gave the class some interesting facts about sharks that he
read about
-He even wrote about sharks in our writers workshop
-Show Resource 1 (writing sample)
-During our reading block, he reads 3-4 books in one sitting.
-Reads a lot of non-fiction books about animals, especially marine life
-He is a very strong reader!
Middle
-However, I wanted to talk with you about Jays behavior this 9 weeks
-Im concerned
-His behavior interferes with his own learning, as well as the learning of others.
-He often has outbursts, especially when he appears to be frustrated
-How does Jay show his emotions at home? What does he do when his angry?
-What do you do when and if Jay has an outburst at home?
-He has trouble controlling his anger and has trouble getting along with students.
-He has not been listening to directions well

Kaylee Neubacher PTC

- I have a few ideas to discuss with you regarding Jays behavior:

-With your support and permission, I want to:
-Sit down with you and Jay to create a behavior contract (show resource 2)
-Allows Jay to have a part in setting the expectations of his behavior at
home and in the classroom.
-I will display it in his folder, where he can easily see it.
-When he takes his folder home, you can review the expectations with him
-Help Jay track his own behavior at school and home using a chart (show resource 3)
-As well as, having Jay complete a behavior reflection (show resource 4)
-Implement a new positive reward system for good behavior
-Give him extra time on the I-pad
-Teaches Jay to reflect on his own behavior
-Our goal is to get him to learn self-management of his actions and
emotions
-Give Jay three I need a break cards in a day (show resource 5)
-Give him 5 minutes of reading a book of his choice in the reading corner
-This will diffuse his frustration and anger
-Also provide one on one instruction when he is feeling frustrated
-Give Jay the role of Science Helper
-I will give him the topic we will be studying that week
-He can help me by reading books about this topic and getting more
information about it.
-He can do a project or draw a picture about what he learned, present it to
the class or to a small group?
-When we are learning about the topic, he can be a great resource for other
students, and give extra information about the topic.
-He could even lead the discussion if he wished to
-Gives him the opportunity to share something he loves with his peers
-Last, I want to partner with the School Counselor

Kaylee Neubacher PTC

-Whenever Jay breaks the classroom rules, I want to give him the choice
to go the Counselor and talk through his emotions and actions
-For more serious behavior offenceshitting, biting his peers, I will have
Jay meet with the School Counselor to discuss the situation
-This partnership with the School Counselor will support the behavior
management we are doing in class.
-It will further help Jay to learn how to work through conflicts and selfmanage his actions and emotions.
-This option is more beneficial, I believe, to Jays long-term progress
(rather than just sending him to the office, which I have done in the past)
End
-Jay is a bright student, we just need to address and fix his behavior problems to get him
to his full academic potential.
-I believe with your help, Jays behavioral problems can be addressed in an effective and
positive manner.
-Are there any questions or concerns you may have with what we have talked about?
-I care about each and every one of my twenty students. I want them to succeed. The
only way for this to happen is if all students are following directions and are behaving in
a way that supports learning.
(Teacher will get up from her seat, signally the end of the conference)

On the way back to the table:

-Thank you for meeting with me this morning.
-I hope to meet with you again soon and have a follow up on Jays progress.
-I know that Jay is going to have a great rest of the year!
-Again, nice to meet you!

Kaylee Neubacher PTC

Kaylee Neubacher PTC

Kaylee Neubacher PTC

Kaylee Neubacher PTC

Copy of Parent Feedback Form

Kaylee Neubacher PTC

Parent Teacher Mock Conference Reflection

Kaylee Neubacher PTC

Through this experience, I learned the importance of effective parent-teacher

communication. Before the conference, I took a look at Jays file. The one area that stood out
to me, which he needed the most work on, was behavior. So, I searched for more information
about resolving behavior in the classroom. In my research, I devised a plan to help Jay
overcome his behavior issues. This included: making a personal contract with Jay and his
parents, tracking his behavior with a weekly behavior report, and bringing in the school
counselor for extra support with teaching Jay self-management of his behavior. During the
conference, I followed the sandwich outline; I started with something positive, then talked about
what we needed to work on, and ended on something positive. I was good at outlining the plan
for helping Jay with his behavioral issues. However, the one area I need to work on is
questioning.
I was nervous during the mock conference and felt uncomfortable with asking questions
about the parents and Jays home life. In a way, I was overly cautious because I didnt know if
my questioning would be interpreted as being nosey. In reflecting, I realize that questioning is
important in understanding the behavior that Jay was displaying in class. Asking questions is the
only way I am going to learn more about my students home life and get a better understanding
of my student. In the future, I am going to ask parents more questions. I am sure, with more
experience I will overcome my in trepidation of asking questions about a parent and students
home life.
After the conference, I looked at the feedback I received and thought about the
conversation I had with Mrs. Mathis, my mock parent. She was extremely helpful in giving me
pointers. The biggest point of advice she gave me was to ask more questions and use the
information that parents give you to learn more. Like I said above, this is something I am going

Kaylee Neubacher PTC

to do better at in the future. I think that having more experience with parent teacher conferences
will do me a lot of good and allow me to become more confident in my parent communication
abilities. Effective parent-teacher communication is important because it is the only way the
teacher can help struggling students. Parents are important in the success of the classroom, so it
is vital for teachers to have good communication and establish a strong relationship with the
parents.