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As a parent and a teacher, I have been on both sides of the parent-teacher conference. Sometimes I have wondered whether we were discussing the same child. Most of the time, parents have listened intently as I pointed out their child's strengths and weaknesses. Occasionally I have had to deal with defensive parents and parents with unreasonable expectations.

Read the excellent article entitled on the National Education Association site. Against this backdrop, here are a few suggestions to help you have a successful parent-teacher conference.

This video offers an example of a parent-teacher conference.

Show up.

You have to show up to have a successful meeting with your child's teacher. That sounds so obvious, doesn't it? I can clearly remember times when the parents with whom I wanted to meet were no shows. Perhaps there was a good reason why they missed their parent-teacher conference. However, in most of those cases, I don't recall receiving a phone call or a note explaining what happened. As soon as you receive your parent-teacher conference appointment, save it in your smartphone's calendar and Google calendar. If you cannot attend for some valid reason, text, or email your child's teacher as soon as possible. Ask to re-schedule the conference.

Arriving for the conference.

Arrive at the school at least 10 minutes early for your conference. If the conference before yours was

2025-26 Best SSAT Prep Courses Reviewed

Preparing for the Secondary School Admission Test (SSAT) can be a daunting task for students seeking admission to private schools. With its unique format and challenging questions, the SSAT requires strategic preparation to achieve a competitive score. In this article, we'll explore the best SSAT prep courses reviewed in 2025-26, helping you make an informed decision about which course is right for your student.

The SSAT is probably unlike any test your student has ever taken. That’s because it’s designed to identify the best students from a large pool of excellent candidates.

• The SSAT’s questions are significantly different in their difficulty and content from questions on other standardized tests.
• Students aren't even expected to know everything that’s on the test!
• This means that, in order for your student to have the best chance at getting a score that’ll help them get admitted to their school of choice, they’ll need to prepare for the test.

There are a lot of test prep options out there, from tutoring to books to online services. We’ve compiled a list of 5 of the best test prep options we’ve found. But first, here are some things to consider before choosing a prep solution:

• How does your student learn best? Some students learn best in a self-paced program where they are in control, while others may benefit from the more rigid prep plan that a tutor or a class

When you think of single-sex education as a choice or an option when you are thinking about sending your child to private school, the subject becomes a little easier to understand in the 21st century. Historically private schools have offered single-sex education for decades. Indeed many of our older K-12 schools were founded with the purpose of educating boys or girls separately. That's the way things were done back in the 18th and 19th centuries. Colleges and universities were also set up as single-sex institutions. For example, was an all-male university until 1977 when its sister college, Radcliffe, merged with it.

Characteristics of single-sex schools

How do we define a single-sex school? By definition, a single-sex school is a school which educates boys or girls exclusively. As a general rule classes will not be co-educational. On occasion, neighboring boys and girls schools which have an established relationship will host co-educational classes.

What grades do single-sex schools offer? Typically single-sex schools are high schools offering grades 9 through 12 and a Post Graduate year where available. A handful of single-sex schools offer the middle school grades 6 through 9. Even fewer schools offer PK-12. You will also notice that middle school grades go up to grade 9 and high school begins with grade 9 as well. Actually, grade 10 is probably the most common entry point for private high schools. That’s one reason for the overlap of the grades.

There are several different kinds of

It was a different world for the Presidents who held office in the 20th century. They had a succession of wars to deal with, as well as two devastating economic recessions.

28 - Woodrow Wilson
President from March 4, 1913, to March 4, 1921.
Born: December 28, 1856, Staunton, Virginia
Died: February 3, 1924, Washington, DC Political party: Democratic Party

Virginia native Woodrow Wilson did not attend school until he was a teenager. He was homeschooled. Scholars seem to think he might have had dyslexia. Wilson compensated for this by learning Graham Shorthand. He did manage to attend college, variously attending Davidson College, Princeton University, and the University of Virginia Law School.

29 - Warren Harding
President from March 4, 1921, to August 2, 1923
Born: November 2, 1865, Blooming Grove, Ohio
Died: August 2, 1923, San Francisco, California
Political Party: Republican Party

Little is known of Ohio native Warren Harding's early education. Scholars seem to think that he was mostly homeschooled. He attended Ohio Central College and earned his degree from that institution.

30 - Calvin Coolidge
President from August 2, 1923, to March 4, 1929
Born: July 4, 1872, Plymouth Notch, Vermont
Died: January 5, 1933, Northampton, Massachusetts
Political Party: Republican Party

Vermont native Calvin Coolidge attended Black River Academy and then St. Johnsbury Academy, local semi-private schools which eventually became their town's public schools. He matriculated to Amherst College from which he graduated with honors in

Not many schools existed in in our young nation. The dearth of schools makes you wonder what forces shaped the philosophies and thinking of the men who became our first sixteen presidents. In the 18th and early 19th-centuries, formal education usually took place in a small, intimate setting in the home of a minister. Lessons included what we now call core subjects, i.e., reading, writing, and mathematics. Teachers also taught the and classical languages.

In pre-Revolution days, occasionally young men were sent off to England to study in boarding or public schools there. Many of these early presidents matriculated to colleges such as , , and the , back in the days when these institutions were just becoming established. Politics, agriculture, law, and the armed services figure prominently in the career paths of these distinguished men in many cases. Other presidents came to the job with very little formal education. What follows are snapshots of these remarkable leaders.

1 - George Washington

President from April 30, 1789 to March 4, 1797. No party affiliation.
Born: February 22, 1732, Westmoreland County, Virginia, Virginia
Died: December 14, 1799, Mount Vernon, Virginia

Our first President, George Washington, was homeschooled and self-taught. His formal education consisted of lessons in mathematics, reading, and writing. Scholars seem to think that George attended classes with