Regularly scheduled meeting between a student's parent(s) and teacher to discuss his or her progress.

The parent-teacher conference is an opportunity for parents to get a glimpse into the school lives of their children. Although many parents are involved in their children's schools, either as members of a parent-teacher organizations, such as PTA, or as volunteers (in a variety of areas), many more have little or no contact other than the parent-teacher conference.

Some parents are reluctant to attend parent-teacher conferences. Such parents are often anxious about schools because of their own negative experiences as children or because they fear they will be perceived as meddlesome. Often, however, an invitation from a teacher to come in for a meeting will be sufficient to break the ice. More and more teachers are now producing newsletters for children to take home (or having the students produce the...