Fall not only means leaves changing and it getting colder, but it also means parent-teacher conferences. How parent-teacher conferences work is that all teachers are set up in tables of two, in both the small and large gyms at Lewis-Palmer High School. Parents follow their children’s schedules and talk to their teachers about their child’s progress in that class.

The core subjects; english, math, science, and social studies, usually have a line of about two or three parents waiting to talk to them. Each teacher has their computer with them in order to easily pull up the students’ grades.

The parents are asked to limit their time with the teacher to about five minutes or less.

“I think it’s enough time, but if you need more time you can schedule an appointment with the teacher,” Melanie Clark, parent said.

Sometimes, the student tags along with their parent to the conference.

“I don’t like it as much when the student is involved in the conference, some teachers like it; but it makes it difficult to talk about the actual issues if there are any,” Tana Lucido, teacher at Lewis-Palmer said.

Parents find out if their child is talkative or quiet or use the class time to sleep. Teachers are quick to let the parent know if their child is doing poorly in the class, so they can give them tips on how their child can do better; such as turning in missing assignments, how to study for tests, and any extra credit opportunities the child can use to their advantage.

“Most of the time it’s about behaviour; if they’re involved in class discussion, if they’re talking or sleeping or on their phones. Grades also come up, but most of the time it’s behaviour,” Mrs. Lucido said.

Parent-teacher conferences are important in order for parents to find out what their child is doing in class and how well they are doing.

“Sometimes kids don’t tell their parents all of what’s going on and the grades on Infinite Campus don’t give the whole story. The parents see the kids more than anyone else, so they can work together to fix anything,” Mrs. Lucido said.

Not only does it help parents get an insight to what their child is doing during school, but it also lets the teacher learn more about the student.

“Often times I’ll learn something that the kid is going through that I didn’t know and it’ll help me make a better connection with the student,” Mrs. Lucido said. “Unfortunately, it’s the parents of the kids that are doing well that come more so than the one’s who aren’t doing as well. Which might explain why the kids aren’t doing so well, because their parents aren’t that involved in their child’s education.”