What are the expectations for a STEM specialist in an elementary space when it comes to parent-teacher conferences? I was recently talking with one of you over on Instagram at Naomi Meredith underscore and the topic of parent-teacher conferences came up and we were chatting back and forth and it gave me the idea to record an episode about this. But not only that, I actually asked you in various places what you actually do during parent-teacher conferences. So there's no video for this one because I'm going to do a lot of reading.

You guys showed up and shared exactly what you do and this I think is very insightful because you might be in this situation where you might be the only one who teaches STEM in your building and maybe you have a team of other teachers who are kind of similar like PE, art, and music, but really you're probably only the STEM teacher in your space. So I appreciate these comments so much and I know you are going to as well. Really quick before I read those, I will share what my role was when I was teaching STEM and what it was like for parent-teacher conferences.

For our parent-teacher conferences, they actually were four nights. We went Monday through Thursday in a row and there were two late nights where we went until seven o'clock and then two shorter nights where we went till five o'clock. Doesn't seem that much shorter.

But what we did as a special team is we counted out all the hours and we divided out the hours evenly and we took turns covering the main office. So our office ladies actually were not expected to stay for parent-teacher conferences, but we were as specialists. So we took turns being in the front office and our job was to make sure that parents signed in.

We let them in through the front doors and we directed them to classroom. Another thing that we did is we actually had to go on the intercom every 15 or 20 minutes, whatever the conferences were. We had to go over the intercom and say, this is the end of like your 7-15 conference.

Thank you so much parents for being here. Please finish up and we can move on to the next appointment slot. Our school, we made sure everybody signed up at conferences.

They had the same timeframes and this was really helpful for teachers because you know, you might have some more chatty parents or ones who want to take over the next time. So we would go ahead and do that. That's what we did.

And then it would come in waves for sure when the parents would come in. So what I would do in between little slow moments is actually set up all of my emails for the rest of the year for the teachers. So when it was their rotation, when to bring their computers.

And then I also set up all of my emails for my afterschool clubs. So I always did a reminder email the day before. So that's one thing.

It's kind of mindless-ish, but something that I would work on or another thing I would work on is like cutting out stuff. But couldn't get a whole lot done. And then of course, talking to parents too, if I had their students, which it was usually pretty positive.

Here and there, I would go in and support classroom teachers with specific students where they needed some more support and other eyes of what was happening in the classroom. So if that was the case, me and my team, we would figure out, hey, could you come cover for this little bit? I need to go into this classroom. So I wasn't in the front office the whole time, neither were my teammates, but that was just a responsibility that we had.

All right, so let's get into what you all shared. I'm going to share first names, but they're also in no particular order. So I think this you will find very helpful.

Brandon says, we can have conferences with families. It's our choice. We usually just mostly greet parents as they come in, direct traffic, etc.

Be a welcoming voice and talk to the parents as they wait for grade level conferences to begin. Shannon says, usually we're answering questions and guiding parents to rooms. I also like to put information for parents on the bulletin boards outside my hall and highlight student work.

Oh, I love that. If you have the room, that's a great idea. Sometimes I'm brought in to reinforce another teacher's observations about behavior or understanding of content knowledge.

Patty says she's mostly support. I sit in on a conference that might be challenging for the homeroom teacher to support concerns and help with upset parents. I field questions on a drop-in basis and anything that might be requested.

So, so far with these teachers, and I'm sure these other teachers as well that I'm going to read to this too, most of these teachers, and I think you can relate, were in the classroom before. So having that other support of another teacher in the building is really, really insightful. It really helps get that well-rounded view of a student.

Sharon says, we haven't had formal parent-teacher conferences yet at the time of her submitting this comment, but I have called some parents to introduce myself and let them know my role. I do like to tell the parents positive stories about their children. I think that's excellent at any time of year, especially if you don't, you don't want the first phone call to be, hey, something bad happened.

I'm the STEM teacher. This is what STEM is. So that's a really great idea to keep the communication all year long.

Cindy says, I'm in my space working on new learning for me, but families can stop by whenever they want. I have the room set up like it is when students are here and kids can show their families what we do. It's been very helpful in getting donations and support for the program.

I have K through 5, about 750 students. I feel your girl is a great idea. And I would do the same thing the times I wasn't in the front office.

So super helpful. Nick says, very similar to what Cindy said, we were just available if parents wanted to come talk, but usually didn't see many parents, which that can happen too. I think one year I set some stuff up for kids to do if they came down, so I can meet some parents.

Dana says that they support parents needing to locate teachers, which definitely can be a thing. It can be really confusing in any elementary school I have found. And she also helps run food to teachers and manages the front door.

Kelsey says for parent teacher conferences, my specials team is expected to have a table set up by the book fair on our library during our late night. Then parents can stop by and say hi if they want, which I think that's a great idea. I've seen quite a few schools and some of the schools I've been at have done this, not every year, but they do the book fair the same week as parent teacher conferences.

So that's a great tip too, to get those donations for your school and knowing that families might be staying later anyway, that's a great location to be at. One of my friends, Becca, she has to actually help inside the book fair. So that is quite an adventure.

I've done that also before and it's really fun. Of course I would find it fun, but I think it's really fun bringing up the books and showing kids what there is available. Kelly says that she gives directions and chats with anyone who comes by the lab.

It's usually one to two families out of 400, which yeah, that can be really common. Kristen says, I thought this was really cool. I have never heard of this and I should have followed up with her if this actually helps seeing more parents, but she said our students get a passport booklet to get a sticker from each special that they visit and then she's also supporting teachers and being available for the parents and students.

So I'm curious, I should ask her if that does help seeing more because they want to get that sticker. That's really, really cool. Then Sarah says she supports the teachers if needed, but otherwise the help out pass out books and information to families.

So overall, very different than a classroom teacher for sure, but as you can tell with all of these responses that everybody is helping at the school in some way and still being supportive of that community and being visible during that time. If your school is a little bit confused, what should you even do? I think these are really great suggestions and overall very similar to what the expectations are for a STEM specialist or just even special teachers in general. I hope you found this episode helpful.

I'm trying out lots of different styles, especially ways to get your voice. So it's like we're traveling to each other's classroom. So if you loved this episode, let me know.

Feel free to send me an email or you can send me a DM on Instagram at Naomi Meredith underscore. Thank you so much and I will see you in the next episode. Thank you so much for listening to today's episode of the elementary STEM coach podcast.

I would love to connect with you over on Instagram at Naomi Meredith underscore, or send me an email to elementary STEM coach podcast at gmail.com. Also make sure to check out my website, Naomi Meredith.com to see all the show notes from today's episode and shop my K-5 STEM resources. Any questions you have, needs for resources or ideas for episodes, get in touch. I'll talk to you soon.