Graphic by Rose Shen/The Choate News
This year, parent-teacher conferences occurred in an all-virtual format during the first week of January. These conferences are normally held in-person as a part of Parents’ Weekend in October, which was canceled because of the Covid-19 pandemic. Regardless of the virtual format of the conferences, parents and teachers alike were excited about the opportunity to connect with one another.
Science teacher and Director of Sustainability Ms. Katrina Linthorst-Homan said, “Conferences provide a great opportunity for collaboration in support of the student. The parents and/or guardians obviously know the student far better than we as the teachers do partway into the year. So, learning more about a student as an individual and their history as a learner — their strengths and the areas they are working on — is very helpful in supporting their academic growth.”
After this year’s virtual conferences, some are considering the idea of replacing in-person parent-teacher conferences with Zoom conversations, even when the pandemic is over. For many parents and teachers, virtual conferences offer several advantages over in-person ones. Traditionally, conferences take place in the cacophonous gym. This year’s Zoom sessions allowed for fewer distractions, and parents no longer had to hustle between meetings. In addition, the virtual format gave families who typically cannot travel to campus the opportunity to meet with their children’s teachers.
Latin teacher Ms. Diana Beste said, “The extra time meant being able to comfortably chit chat and connect with parents on a personal leave, which is important. I also think because everyone was in their own element, people seemed more comfortable and at ease.”
HPRSS teacher Mr. John Connelly said, “I would recommend that Parents’ Weekend, going forward, consist of class visits, informational gathering sessions for parents, and the enjoyment of attending extracurricular events. And I feel very strongly that parent-teacher conferences should be held thereafter. The current structure of a greatly compact and intense Parents’ Weekend takes quite a toll on those involved, and the benefit of this is not clear.” Holding parent-teacher conferences later in the year may also mean that teachers know students better before speaking with their parents.
One of the organizers of the conferences, Ms. Jordan Abbott, will survey the faculty to better understand their feelings about the online meetings. This could result in a general push into online conferences in the future. Ms. Abbott said that “the feedback from parents was overwhelmingly positive, so I definitely see virtual conferences being a part of Choate moving forward, whether it’s a hybrid situation, or they could be offered at another point in the year outside of Parents’ Weekend.”
Although virtual conferences provide several benefits, some parents feel that on-campus conferences are an integral part of connecting with their child’s life on campus, especially for parents of boarding students. Ms. Cara Hermancinski P ’22 said, “As a boarding school parent, it feels like there is so much about your child’s high-school experience you have to experience from afar. I relish all opportunities to come to campus and gain insight into my child’s day-to-day life.”
Dean of Students Mr. Mike Velez ’00 said, “The virtual component is definitely an approach that can be considered for the future and will be examined more thoroughly through surveys and other mechanisms to gather feedback. If we shifted away from in-person conferences over the fall Parents’ Weekend, the School could re-imagine the programming around that event, which is an exciting prospect.”
