Parent teacher conferences are a big deal. For students, it’s a four day weekend. For parents, it’s a way to get a better understanding of their child’s academic progress. For teachers and administrators, it can be a very hectic two days, but worth it, according to Gerald Munley, the head of the science department.

“The benefit [of conferences] is so great,” he said. Principal Denise Hibbard agreed. “Parents have an opportunity for a one on one conversation regarding students’ progress,” she said. “A lot of high schoolers’ parents don’t have this opportunity.” She added that “parents don’t have the chance to talk to teachers as often as they might like.”

Conferences do have their drawbacks. For instance, teachers’ schedules can get a bit full, but the school does what it can to lessen that stress. “Parents would like longer conferences,” said Munley, “but the teachers would have no breaks.” They maintain the current system of five-minute-long sessions, even though Hibbard has acknowledged that is “rather short.” Nevertheless, the two days of conferencing is “very tiring for teachers,” stated Todd Bowen, the head of Modern and Classical Languages.

Fortunately, the scheduling itself is no longer managed by administrators slaving away over calendars and lists of students and faculty. The school now uses a program, called Parent Teacher Conference Maker, to organize the roughly two thousand appointments each year. Hibbard said, “There are exceptions we need to consider – twins, siblings, teachers who work on both campuses – but the program handles scheduling well,” she continued.

Teachers aren’t the only ones stressed about conferences, however. A lot of students find the whole thing “nerve wracking,” said junior Charlotte Purcell. She found the idea of the student not knowing what their teachers are going to say about them “unfair.” Hibbard, however, points out that “faculty are very accessible, and students have their free periods” to talk with them. They should know in general terms what their teachers are going to say.

In regard to the semi-frequent suggestion that students be permitted to attend their conferences, responses were mixed. Ian Michelson, a junior, said he would prefer such a change because “the more active the student, the more the teacher likes them,” and because he felt it would make the conferences “less awkward.” Munley observed that “you would need more than two days to make that work.” He also stated, “The amount of communication between teacher and student is already pretty high. If that didn’t happen, having the student present might be a good idea.”

Bowen, who previously worked at schools where the students attend conferences, said that it makes the conversation “distinctly different.” “It becomes between the student and the teacher, with the parents listening in,” he said.

Not everyone’s parents attend conferences. According to Hibbard, “The average teacher has only half of their students’ parents come.” But, she explained, “our teachers are accommodating, and talk with parents later by email or phone.” Counting electronic conferences, eighty-five percent of parents, across both campuses, scheduled appointments with their children’s Science teacher, Munley stated. To put that number in context, he added, “I’ve taught in schools where the percent of parents who attended was fifty percent, and another that was closer to twenty.” Other departments did not have such statistics immediately available, but allowed that eighty-five percent registration seemed a likely number for the school as a whole.

Some students would likely be just as happy if their parents didn’t go to conferences. “Sometimes parents complain to the teachers,” said Michelson. While he did not believe that this would turn teachers against their pupils, he acknowledged. “That’s not going to make them like you more.” Purcell was frustrated by the times when “parents go to conferences, and then come back and say ‘I hear you didn’t turn in this assignment.’” On the other hand, she said, “Students need to know what to do in order to improve.” When asked how she was feeling as conferences loomed closer, she laughed, “I hope mine goes well.”