Convenient Conference.

Parents in Jefferson County like their new Parent Teacher Conference Days, a districtwide initiative of Superintendent Stephen Daeschner.

On the first of the des designated conference days last November, 50 percent of the district's 60,000 families met with teachers and school staff. Though a union agreement makes the conference day optional for teachers, 98.3 percent o the teachers participated.

Schools used a number of creative measures to attract parents. These included busing teachers to other parts of town to meet parents, hosting conferences on flex-time schedules, and scheduling conferences at off-site locations convenient to parents.