Has the time come for parent conferences? If you’re a veteran teacher, you know the drill. But for new teachers, the idea of parent conferences may stir up some nervous tension. Although parent conferences and report cards are periodic events and documents that need attention only at certain times of the year, it is imperative that you organize your time, energies, and information beforehand so that when that time rolls around, you are well-prepared and ready to complete report cards and hold successful conferences. How can you make any conference successful? Our five-part series on parent conferences and report cards will provide some tips that you can follow to ensure a positive outcome to any parent-teacher conference:

Part I: Keeping Accurate Daily Notes and Record Keeping

Keeping Accurate Daily Notes
The first and most important step is keeping accurate daily notes. Finding the time to record daily notes isn’t difficult; remembering to do so is. To begin with, you will need to give yourself daily reminders in a daily task book to “teach” yourself to use spare seconds to jot down notes. Once you get into the mindset of keeping daily notes, not only will you record information that will be invaluable when reporting time rolls around, but you will also enhance your observation skills by learning to be observant on an ongoing basis.

Record Keeping
Record keeping is a task that every teacher must do. Here are some timesaving tips to make record keeping easier, more efficient, and accurate.

• When collecting tests to score and record, collect them in alphabetical order, last name first. You can then correct and record them straight into your gradebooks, instead of taking time to find each name on the page to record the information.
• Use a pencil. You may need to change a grade, and a pencil keeps the page in better shape.
• Color-code using colored pencils. You might record daily assignments in blue pencil and test scores in red, for example.
• Choose a specific time each week to enter all grades into your computer.
• Save even more time by using Gradekeeper software to manage your gradebooks. This powerful tool allows you to easily enter and record student information, assignments, and scores. You can customize by categories, letter grade cutoffs, and other grading options — even view or print a variety of reports, including class grades, attendance, individual student scores, and missing assignments.

How do you do your record keeping? Share your tips in our comment roll and let other teachers know what has or hasn’t been working for you!

Next Post: Part II: Arranging Your Room for Conferences