Parents teacher meetings provide a unique opportunity for communication between the teacher and parents. Teachers use this chance to tell the parent about their child’s progress at school while parents have their questions and issues addressed.
These meetings help teachers and parents come up with plans that will help the student to achieve their academic and personal goals.
To make the most out of PTA meetings, you must know how to organize them. Here are a few tips that will help you to organize your PTA meeting like a pro.
Before the meeting
Inform yourself and prepare relevant materials
You should take the time to inform yourself about all student assessment tools. Remember a student’s report card is a good basis for discussion during a PTA meeting. You should also arm yourself with local standardization test results so that you can share them with the parent if need be.
Make sure to review the student assignment and assessment and share them with the parent. Prepare the questions that you will ask each parent on how they can help their child improve. If there are any issues, let the parent know before the PTA meeting so that they come prepared with ideas on how to handle the problem.
Get the timing right
The timing of the PTA meeting is an important consideration. You should try to be unique with the timing of the meeting. You can set the PTA meeting for World teachers’ day. It is a day to celebrate teachers and parents who will try to give their best in helping you shape their kids into their full potential.
You can also choose the first Monday of the term after the students have been home with their parents for the holiday. After spending quality time with their children, parents will definitely have something to say about how they can collaborate with you for the benefit of the child.
Send informative invites
When sending PTA meeting invites to parents, it is important that you let them know that they are an essential part of their child’s instructional team.
Try to provide different meeting times for parents to choose from so that it becomes more convenient for them. You should let the parents know that they will have a chance to ask questions and that any issues they might have will be addressed.
You should use technology to your advantage when sending communication about PTA meetings to parents. There are a lot of school poster templates available online, such as in PosterMyWall. It allows you to be creative and parents will definitely love the great design.
A week before the meeting, send reminders to the parents about the PTA meeting. Remind parents that time slots for those who arrive late will not be extended because that would be disrespectful to other parents’ time.
During the PTA meeting
Create a warm and friendly environment
You should create a welcoming environment on the day of the PTA meeting. Some of the things that you can do to make the classroom look inviting are bringing adult-size tables and chairs and displaying your students’ work.
You should also set aside an area with puzzle games, or computers for the parents who will tag other siblings along. Provide the parents with a pen and paper so that you can encourage them to take notes. It is also advisable to treat them to some healthy snacks and beverages.
Start with the positive
Parents are proud of their children and while they want to know both the good and bad, it is a nice idea to start with the positives.
Inform the parent about the level of their kid’s ability with a demonstration from the student’s previous works. While the main focus of the PTA meeting is to discuss an individual student’s strengths and weaknesses, you should not shy away from telling the parent about their child’s standing in class if they ask for this information.
Ask for the parent’s input
You should let the parent speak his or her mind about their expectations for their child. Listen attentively as the parent states what they think are the student’s strengths, weaknesses and learning style.
If the parent is not eager to contribute to the discussion, ask him or her questions that will prompt them to talk about their child. You can ask the parent, “Does your child like school? Why? That line of questioning will allow the parent to offer lots of information about their son or daughter.
Final Thoughts
It’s definitely not easy to plan a PTA meeting that’s effective and engaging, especially with the added stress and pressure of wanting to form a strong relationship with the parents of your students.
But with the tips we’ve given out, organizing successful PTA meetings will soon become easy and natural for you!