Neighbor News
Elmhurst Residents Rally Support For Parent-Teacher Meetings
Over 280 signatures have been collected on a petition asking residents to stand in favor of keeping parent-teacher conferences.
Over 280 signatures have been collected on a petition asking residents to stand in favor of keeping parent-teacher conferences at their local schools. More than 40% of the petition signers are Sandburg Middle School parents.
This fall at Sandburg, parent-teacher conferences were replaced with student-led presentations called student-led conferences. During the student-led conference, students presented slideshows to parents that covered topics like self-evaluation and goal-setting. A teacher was in the room to help guide the presentation if needed, but did not provide any feedback about the student.
There is concern that what’s happening at Sandburg could have implications for how conferences are handled across the district. Jenn Toffler and Deb Parkerson Casey started the petition after learning there would be no parent-teacher conferences at Sandburg again next year. They believe parents in District 205 value parent-teacher conferences and would be very unhappy if those conferences are eliminated in the rest of our schools.
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Despite Toffler and Parkerson Casey’s belief that parents and teachers in District 205 welcome change in our schools, they believe that a change that eliminates parent-teacher conferences does not achieve growth for our students. On the contrary, it inhibits their growth by reducing communication between the two groups of adults most invested in their future: their parents and their teachers.
Toffler and Parkerson Casey are interested in finding a creative solution to this issue that includes a structured time set aside for parents and teachers to meet with each other each fall.
Find out what's happening in Elmhurstfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
As an Elmhurst resident, if you agree with the following petition language, please sign this petition today and forward the link to your network:
“I support parent-teacher conferences within Elmhurst School District 205. I respect the educational professionals in our community and value their insight. Meeting with my child's teachers each fall helps me better support my child at home.”
For more information about the petition campaign, visit http://parentteacherconferencesmatter.weebly.com.
To sign the petition, visit https://www.ipetitions.com/petition/support-parent-teacher-conferences
