Parent-Teacher Conferences: Outdated or Underutilized?

You could hear a pin drop in high school classrooms across Frederick County, Maryland. Rather than the buzz of chatter from parent-teacher conferences, there was a notable silence—caused by a string of unfilled appointments. In fact, across the district's 10 high schools, parents signed up for just 18 percent of available conference slots; and teachers spent, on average, two of the 10 instructional hours set aside to talk with parents.

The poor attendance nudged the school board to eliminate high school conferences altogether. Kathryn Groth, Frederick County Public Schools board member, says the district is instead promoting on-demand conferences and other parent engagement initiatives.