T-R FILE PHOTO - It’s time again for the fall parent-teacher conferences at Marshalltown Schools this week. Teachers will be able to share key information with parents regarding their child’s performance in class, as well as on state assessments. Shown here is a conference in Lenihan Intermediate School fifth-grade teacher Julie Finch’s classroom last year.

School staff and parents will have a chance to sit down with one another this week as parent-teacher conferences come to Marshalltown Schools.

District Director of Instruction Lisa Stevenson said the chance for teachers and parents to talk can be helpful for everyone involved.

“They give teachers and parents and students an opportunity to have some uninterrupted time together to review progress to date and communicate about any upcoming, important work that needs to be done,” she said.

The conferences may look slightly different from building to building and grade level to grade level, but Stevenson said there are some key parts of the process parents can expect.

“In general, a teacher would review content that’s been covered thus far and how the student’s been progressing,” she said.

Along with regular assignments and classwork details, Stevenson said teachers can show and explain certain test scores the student has received. One such exam, called the Formative Assessment System for Teachers (FAST), may be touched upon during the meetings.

“If they’re a K-8 student … (students) will get the state FAST Reading and FAST Math (exams),” Stevenson said.

She said the test acts as “a screener to see if a child is at-risk of having difficulty meeting grade level standards.”

On the parents’ part, Stevenson said there’s not really anything to prepare. She did suggest parents get ready to make note of questions they have for the teacher.

“It always helps to have questions if there are things you’ve been concerned about,” Stevenson said.

Another thing for parents to keep in mind is timing.

“One thing that is a challenge sometimes is we’re running on such a tight schedule,” Stevenson said. “We try to maximize the amount of minutes we get each parent, so when things get behind or people are running late, it impacts everyone else the rest of the time.”

She said parents with questions about changing the time for a parent-teacher conference should call their child’s school building and talk to office staff.

For more information on Marshalltown Schools, visit https://www.marshalltown.k12.ia.us/

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Contact Adam Sodders at (641) 753-6611 or asodders@timesrepublican.com