Planning parent-teacher conferences is easy with SignUp – teachers will love how much time we save getting organized and parents appreciate simple SignUps and automated reminders. This short video (and the screenshots below) will show you how:
Planning School-Wide Conferences
Organizing school-wide or grade-level Parent-Teacher Conferences? We offer two convenient scheduling options to make the process seamless:
- DIY Scheduling: Easily set up and manage conferences for your entire school or grade. Check out our step-by-step guide: Setting up Parent-Teacher Conferences for a Whole School or Grade
- Concierge Service: Short on time or prefer a hands-off solution? Our Concierge Service can handle the setup for you! For a nominal fee, we’ll import your entire teacher roster and set up conference SignUps for all teachers—within 2 business days. Learn more about this hassle-free option: Parent Conferences Concierge Service: Set Up Schedules for the Whole School
Planning Conferences: Single Class/Teacher
To begin, login at SignUp.com and click on from your Dashboard on your desktop or mobile device.
Planning Screen 1: Provide Details
On this first screen:
- Set the SignUp Kind as Single or Multiple Days
- Set the Category to Parent Teacher Conference
- Enter the Name as your name + grade, or your name + subject
- Add a Welcome Message to parents
- Add a Location (this can be your room number or a virtual meeting link, or both)
- Uncheck the option Allow Participants to see who else has signed up
- Check the option Hide comments from Participants
- Add a Custom Participant Question as a required text field labeled Student Name.
Planning Screen 2: Add Spots
Add New Conference Appointment Spots by clicking, the orange +Create New Spot button:
- Add a Spot
Complete this section as if you would be telling someone when you need parents to attend as if you are speaking to them. We think you'll find it easy to answer the questions and proceed with adding all your Spot details.
Step 1. What do you want people to sign up for?
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- Using the light blue entry fields, enter your first conference appointment - you will likely want 1 person to attend your Parent Conference at a given time.
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- Then, click the orange Add Shifts button to add multiple conference appointments at once. (these can then be copied to multiple days in Step 2, if needed.)
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- Using the pull-down menus, first choose the day's start time and end time, then the conference appointment length and if you want a break time in between appointments.
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- The lower part of the screen will automatically show the conference appointments that will be created. Edit your entries until you are satisfied with the results. The black X will delete any single appointment in the series, for example if you want a lunch break.
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- Click Apply and all conference appointments will be added to your SignUp in one step. In the example above we are adding 15 minute conference appointments from 2pm to 5pm with a 5 minute break in between each one.
Step 2: What day(s) does this Spot happen?
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Select the date of your conference (or multiple dates) by clicking on the calendar - a date will turn green when the Spots are added.
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Step 3: Add extra details (optional)
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- This information will show on all Spots when parents are signing up and will be included on their Confirmation and Reminder messages, automatically sent by SignUp.com. Some ideas include adding parking information, a link to a pre-conference check list, a virtual meeting link, your room number, or any additional information that will be helpful.
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- Click Save at the bottom of the screen to add this conference series to your SignUp and return to the Add a Spot menu.
Want to add more Conference Appointment Spots? Clicking the +Add a Spot button again and answer the prompts. Once you get started, it will be quick to proceed through the steps.
Happy with all your Conference Appointment Spots? Click Next to finalize your SignUp by completing:
Planning Screen 3: Choose a Theme -- where you can upload a logo and search backgrounds by category .
Planning Screen 4: Invite -- where you have several options for inviting parents to sign up. You may also make make manual assignments for parents with or without email at any time.
Click Done and your SignUp will be live and displayed on your Dashboard tab.
How to See Who Signed Up
Before the conference day, you may quickly see who's coming when in Spots or Reports tab of the SignUp's Organizer view. Learn more here: How Can Teachers See Who Signed Up
See Also:
Setting up Parent-Teacher Conferences for a Whole School or Grade
Parent Teacher Conferences - We do the work for you!
Adding Virtual Meeting Links to your SignUp: Zoom, Google Meets, Go To Meeting, etc.