Parent Teacher Conferences/ Emails: Solutions

N- Organization, Homework (Parent + Mrs. Mills, Mrs. Arduini, Mrs.

Muccia)
Came up collobratively with a plan that includes a buddy system and
better organization skills for taking homework home. She will also use
an agenda to write down all of her homework.
A- Organization, Homework: Came up with a solution- write
homework from the board into agenda and then teacher signs it
parent signs it. I have been doing this for A ever since the
meeting
J- Behavior, Respect for teachers and classmates. Student has an IEP
and a disability but his respect for classmates and teachers is
inappropriate. Parent has given permission to give Behavior slips that
need to be signed by teacher and parent when a problem goes wrong
at school. This will keep parent and teacher communication up and
student will see consequences and documentation of behavior.
M- Stressed out to the point of it being unhealthy Reassurance
On 3/22 Mrs. Muccia and I received an email from the Janes
mother. She requested a meeting because her child was having a lot of
trouble at home dealing with the stress of homework and studying. Her
mother thought that it was getting to the point of unhealthiness. She
wanted to talk it out with us and find out what the expectations were
for the 3rd trimester so that she could guide her child into a less
stressful home life. We had the meeting with the two on 3/23 at
7:15am. We first spoke with the mother and sent the student into
another teachers classroom. The mother told us that Jane was a very
private person and did not like when her problems were hashed out
and explained in front of her. We did not want to upset her so we spoke
to the mother first. She helped us understand the situation at home.
Jane was having a lot of stress at home due to all of the homework and
she thought that if she got any questions wrong on the homework it
would affect her grade greatly. We explained to the mother that this
was not true. During third trimester we were looking for perfection and
to make sure the students are ready for 7th grade. Jane is an A student
she works very hard and Mrs. Muccia and I see that everyday in class.
We told the mother that we were not worried about her grades at all in
the class however we needed to work out a way to lessen the stress on
her daughter. We discussed the fact that Jane was getting wrong
information and we needed to discuss the actual expectations for the
class with Jane. We were also told that when directions or reprimanding
in the classroom to certain students were given out, Jane tends to think
that this applies to her even though she is a very hard worker. We

brought Jane back into the room and had her explain the way she felt
about the class. She told us that she was very overwhelmed and
stressed because the homework and the outlining was a lot for her to
do especially when she is absent for a class. Jane had been absent
recently for 3 days due to her braces. Mrs. Muccia and I told Jane that
yes work needs to be completed, however she needs to relax because
the work that she hands us is her best work. As long as she tries her
best the homework will not affect her in a negative way. We explained
that even if she did poorly on multiple homework it would not affect
her grade because it was only worth 20%. We also talked about how
Jane needs to ask questions and clarify answers. We told her that
asking questions does not show weakness, it shows strength because
she wants to know the information so she gets it right on the
assignment. We told her that even though she has outlining and
homework we usually dont check the outlined notes until after the
lesson is over. We told her she just needs to learn how to manage her
time so that she is not working on homework 100% of the time. She
needs to have a life outside of school as well.
I thought this meeting went well because Jane felt a lot better
after we finished the meeting. She understood that she can ask
questions and that Mrs. Muccia and I are there to answer questions.
She knows that she can make mistakes on homework because that is
where mistakes are suppose to be made. Homework is for mistakes so
that she can learn better. We came up with a plan for Jane, we made
sure she knew to ask questions and to manage her time so that she
wasnt outlining a lot every night. Now that I know Jane struggles with
getting questions wrong, having too much work
N- Grammar difficulties: Student came from a public school in which
Grammar is not taught the way we teach grammar at SGGA. Student is
struggling. The parent is a reading specialist and she is very involved
with her childs learning. She wants to learn and be explained the way
grammar is taught at our school so she can practice it with him at
home. Student has improved in grades and in mood ever since the
meeting.
T- Not doing homework or studying: The parent was concerned about
how her child was not getting homework done. She wanted us to come
in for a meeting with the child and talk to him about how his homework
and studying habits are not getting him the grades that he wants. This
was a sort of wake up call towards the student.