Parent-teacher conferences are necessary to ensure the overall academic success of your child. Whether your child attends Islamic school online or in-person, parent-teacher conferences are held to evaluate the social-emotional and academic performance of your child. How well has your child acclimated to the classroom? Their peers? Does your child require additional support outside of the classroom? Family engagement and parent-teacher partnership are intrinsic to the academic achievement, social skill, growth, and behavior of your child.
According to the National Coalition for Parent Involvement in Education, “no matter their income or background, students with involved parents are more likely to have higher grades and test scores, attend school regularly, have better social skills, show improved behavior and adapt well to school.” With substantial shifts into virtual learning, it’s important now more than ever that Muslim parents and teachers collaborate to support the social growth and academic success of their students. Here are a few strategies for a successful parent-teacher conference:
Preparing for the parent-teacher conference:
1. Ask your child how they feel about school.
What do they think about remote learning? How do they feel about their teachers and peers? What are your child’s favorite and least-favorite subjects? Include your child’s input in preparation for the conference.
2. Be on time for the conference and be ready to listen.
A parent-teacher conference is an opportunity for you to learn more about your child’s academic habits and how to better support them from home. How is your child fitting into their virtual classroom? Does your child seem happy in class? Do they participate in class discussions and activities? How has your child improved since the start of the school year?
3. Come prepared to talk about your child and their performance.
Include information that may contribute to your child’s academic and social progress. What are your child’s interests or hobbies? Are there any challenges or outside factors that have interfered with your child’s learning experience? How might the teacher better understand and support your child in the classroom?
4. Review how the conference went with your child.
Are there any plans you made with the teacher? Do you have any goals for your child as a student? Keep your child in the loop.
5. Keep in touch with the teacher throughout the school year.
Plan for follow-up as needed and support continued learning at home by implementing any tips your child’s teacher may have provided you with.
Al-Huda School is an accredited K-12 Islamic School, which was founded in 1995 as part of a larger community-building project called Dar-us-Salaam. Al-Huda Global is a newly founded online school based on the founding principles of our original brick and mortar location. For more information on how to provide access to quality online Islamic education from anywhere in the world please visit our website.