8 Questions to ask when Evaluating Parent-Teacher Conference Software

There are plenty of ways that schools can automate the process of registration for parent-teacher conferences. How can a school leader know which one is the best fit for their school? Here are 8 things to keep in mind as you compare options and features.

Is it really easy for parents to use?

You’re about to ask hundreds of parents to perform an action that ought to be straightforward. You need to put yourself in their shoes for a minute and try it out. How many clicks does it take? If you’re asking hundreds of people to collectively waste 20 minutes using a difficult interface, your attempt to automate your conferences will probably result in angry or frustrated parents. Do the parents need to create an account first? Does the system require that they know the names of all their child’s teachers? Will you need to send out an instruction manual before they will be able to sign up? Make sure the system you choose is easy and straightforward.

Do the teachers inherit the burden?

In order to save time, some school offices push the task of organizing conferences off to the teachers. However, if each teacher has to spend a half hour setting up the day, the amount of time wasted (and the chance for human error) ends up growing exponentially. It’s much easier for everyone if the office does the setup — as long as the setup is straightforward. Not only does this reduce the amount of duplicate work being done, but it ensures that no minor typos or other errors will wreak havoc on your conference day.

Is it affordable? Or worse, is it free?

As Andrew Lewis famously said: “If you’re not paying for it, you’re not the customer — you’re the product.” Are you willing to sell your parent and teacher data to a third party company in order to save a few dollars? What advertisements are they going to be shown? On the flipside, if there’s no pricing information given at all, you are probably in for a shock when you contact their sales department. Some of these programs are very overpriced. Don’t pay more than $1 per student per year.

Is there a clear data privacy policy?

We all know that hardly anyone reads the fine print when they create an account on free internet sites. But if you are about to tell hundreds of parents that they need to create an account, you’re putting your school’s reputation on the line. Will the parent’s email address end up on a mailing list afterwards? Is information about your school community going to be posted publicly on the internet? Be careful that you don’t violate any data privacy laws by posting the names of students, parents or teachers on public-facing websites.

Is the system you’re evaluating purpose-built for parent-teacher conferences?

Parent-teacher conferences have highly complex schedules. A school might have two days of conferences with ten- or fifteen-minute timeslots, with dozens of teachers. A parent might have 2 or 3 children, each with 5 or 10 teachers. Organizing that sort of day efficiently requires software that is designed specifically for such an event. Simple web forms might be fine for organizing food at a potluck or for taking a brief satisfaction survey — but they can’t handle the complexity of a parent-teacher conference. Make sure that the system you select was designed expressly to handle the needs of school offices.

Does the interface work on all browsers?

Parents, like most of us these days, are on the go. Many sign-ups are done via smartphones or tablets. When you test out the conference signup from a parent perspective, be sure to try it on a phone.

Can the office step in if there’s an issue?

If you get a phone call, will you be able to help the frustrated parent? A parent might call the school office with a frustrated emergency — perhaps their internet isn’t working at home, or they don’t know their child’s teacher’s last name. If you have told each teacher to independently handle their own signup process, then the school office won’t be able to see an overview of the day or handle last-minute emergencies. A school secretary ought to be able to easily sign in as a parent and help them over the phone with their scheduling crisis.

Does it really support learning?

Your parent-teacher conference day is an important moment when school-home communication can establish positive bonds. You want teachers and parents to work together to support the learning of the students. Make this important day start off with happy and relaxed parents. With an efficient schedule, teachers will be prepared for conversations and ready to work together to support learning.

Of course, at Scholastico, we think Scholastico PTC is the best solution out there for parent-teacher conferences. But we’re biased. What do you use at your school?