Although the ability of families to participate in their child’s learning at school varies widely, it is a KEY RESPONSIBILITY in early learning for educators to provide opportunities for families to understand both the instructional program and their child’s progress. Teaching staff establish and strengthen relationships with families by 1) communicating with them about the instructional program, 2) conferring with them about individual student learning progress, and 3) inviting them to be a part of the educational process itself.
In this family-teacher conference, Kaia, the student, and Mr Frankel, the teacher, co-conference about learning goals that she has mastered and how she is setting new goals in math and reading. Mr Frankel prompts Kaia to share her thinking with her parents not only about “what” new goals she is setting but also “why” these goals are just right to continue to support her learning growth. The Student Learning Goal documentation that was used in the parent conference includes 1) Kaia’s Personalized Learning Plan (p1); 2) Student Goal Setting Worksheet (p. 2); and 3) NWEA Map Student Progress Report (p3) (4d: Communicating with Families: Students maintain accurate records about their individual learning progress and frequently share this information with families; Distinguished)
