For school leaders, parent-teacher conferences are more than individual meetings between families and educators. They are a systemwide opportunity to build trust, strengthen school culture and reinforce the shared responsibility for student success. When structured well, conferences can align staff, students and families around common goals (academic, behavioral and social).

Establish a Culture of Early and Positive Communication

Your leadership sets the tone. When schools consistently communicate positively with families before conferences, the meetings feel collaborative rather than corrective.

• Expect early outreach: Encourage staff to contact families with at least one positive message early in the term. This makes conferences a continuation of dialogue rather than the first point of contact.
• Model balance: Ensure teachers are trained to deliver both praise and constructive feedback, highlighting at least three strengths for every one area of growth.
• Promote specificity: Remind staff that vague praise isn’t enough; concrete examples of academic and behavioral success build trust with parents.

Align Conference Preparation Across the Building

Without alignment, conferences can vary widely in quality. Leaders should provide a framework that ensures all staff are prepared to maximize the limited time with families.

• Require dual focus: Make it an expectation that teachers share social-behavioral strengths and challenges alongside academic data. This reflects the Boys Town Education Model’s emphasis on teaching skills like Following Instructions, Accepting Feedback and Staying on Task.
• Support student preparation: Encourage staff to have pre-conference conversations with students about their strengths, challenges and goals. Student ownership reduces anxiety and leads to more authentic conferences.

As a leader, you ensure that preparation reflects your school’s priorities and values (not just managing logistics!).

Set Expectations for Conference Flow and Climate

Families should walk away from every conference with the same sense of positivity, structure and partnership. Leaders can support this by standardizing the flow of conversations:

1. Warm Welcome: Begin positively and personalize each message.
2. Celebrate Growth: Highlight 3-4 academic and behavioral strengths.
3. Target Limited Number of Goals: Keep the focus attainable and skill based.
4. Invite Parent Voice: Ensure time is carved out for parents/guardians’ input.
5. Close on Positivity: Thank parents/guardians and express confidence in the shared plan.

Ensure Follow-Up Systems Are in Place

A true culture of communication doesn’t begin or end at conferences. You can build systems that make follow-up natural and expected part of practice.

• Create accountability for post-conference updates: Encourage staff to contact families with a follow-up email, note, or phone call within a few weeks of the conference.
• Celebrate growth publicly: Share aggregate progress (example: 85% of students are on track with their goals) in newsletter or schoolwide communications.

 As a school leader, your job isn’t just to schedule conferences, it’s to shape them into an extension of your school’s culture of trust, respect and collaboration. By aligning preparation, creating consistent expectations and ensuring follow-up your staff and families can work together on the shared goal(s).

Bring Boys Town to your school or district, contact us to explore partnership opportunities. Together, we can create a supportive learning environment that nurtures the potential of every student, educator and parent/guardian