What did you get out get out of the conference?
An opportunity to touch base with my children's teachers and ensure they're on track with their work and doing well socially (not popularity, but interacting and working well with others, being friendly, etc.) Also for one of ours this year, we've used the conferences as a forum to discuss what steps we as parents and educators can take to help our slightly off-track kiddo get back on track. It's important in especially in those situations for the child to witness the parent/teacher discussion so they know what is being said. I believe it's good when a child knows that his parents are in regular contact with his teachers
How could it have been improved?
No complaints on this one, but we tend to be involved with our children's educations and keep in regular contact with their teachers as needed.
Anything to add about parent-teacher conference experiences?
We have a middle schooler this year, and it seems that conferences are more for "problems" and not for any other reason. I think that's just a shame. At least half of his teachers were shocked that we requested conferences, but he's got a killer academic and extracurricular schedule this year and I thought it was important to meet with them regardless of his strong academic record.