At the beginning of this current school year, I invited parents to come in during the first week of school to share about their children. I told them I didn't have an agenda, I just wanted to learn about their children and their families. It was an amazing opportunity to begin building relationships with new parents and reinforce those from the previous year. Yes, it did take time out of my day,  but it was worth it. I learned about strengths and weaknesses and what parents knew or didn't know about our gifted education program. 

We did follow up this conference with a student-led conference later in the fall. I was there for questions, but students shared their goals and progress with their parents. I watched them shine as they had their parents' full attention. It was empowering for them and a great opportunity for parents to see their students as they are in the classroom environment.