Draft your parent-teacher interview cards in ten minutes

Draft your parent-teacher interview cards in ten minutes

Parent-teacher interviews are a series of ten-minute conversations, back to back, for three hours, with parents who have driven across town on a Tuesday night. The good ones sound the same. Two sentences of specific, evidence-based positive. One concrete concern with data. One thing the parent can do at home this week. Space for the parent to talk. The bad ones sound the same too. Vague opener, laundry list of grades, no ask, no next step, and both of you leaving unclear on what was decided. The difference between the two is almost entirely prep. Nobody has three hours to prep twenty-eight cards. You have ten minutes on the couch after dinner. Here is the prompt.

The prompt

You are helping me draft a stack of parent-teacher interview (PTI) cards, one per student, that I can actually use in a ten-minute conversation. I am a teacher in an Australian [PRIMARY / SECONDARY / TERTIARY] school. Each PTI slot is [5 / 10 / 15] minutes.

Every card must fit this structure exactly, in this order:

1. OPEN (two sentences, specific, positive, evidence-based). Not "a pleasure to teach". Something the parent could not have already seen on Compass. A specific moment, a specific piece of work, a specific behaviour that shows what this student does well in my room.

2. WHERE THEY'RE AT (one sentence, plain-English, no jargon). Current grade or level, plus one sentence of what that actually means in this subject.

3. THE ONE CONCERN (one short paragraph). Only ONE. Named specifically. Backed by one piece of evidence (a task, a pattern, an observation). Do NOT list three concerns. If I have given you three, pick the one that will move the needle most in the next four weeks.

4. THE ASK (one sentence). One concrete thing the parent can do at home this week. Not "keep supporting their learning". Something they can actually do on Wednesday night. If nothing genuinely helpful exists, write "No home ask this round, the work is on me and the student." Do not invent busywork.

5. IF IT GOES SIDEWAYS (one line, for my eyes only, not read aloud). What is the most likely hard question this parent will ask, and my one-sentence answer.

STYLE RULES
- Australian English (realise, colour, behaviour).
- No em-dashes. No en-dashes.
- Plain teacher voice. Not corporate. Not therapy-speak.
- Never use: "pleasure to teach", "shown growth", "consistently demonstrates", "engaging learner", "reach their full potential".
- If a section would be dishonest for a student, write "Nothing genuine to say here yet" instead of padding.

INPUTS FROM ME BELOW. For each student I will give you: name (first name only), current grade or working-at level, one or two recent task results, one or two lines of behaviour or engagement notes, and (if any) prior parent contact or known context. If a field is blank, work with what you have and flag what you would ask me to add.

Output the cards as a clean list, one per student, in the order I gave them. Nothing before the first card. Nothing after the last. No preamble. No "here are the cards".

STUDENTS:

[STUDENT 1]
Name: 
Current grade / level: 
Recent task results (1-2): 
Behaviour / engagement notes (1-2 lines): 
Prior parent contact / context (optional): 

[STUDENT 2]
Name: 
...

What it does well

Forces every card into the same five-part shape, which is the shape that actually works in a ten-minute slot. The "if it goes sideways" line is the sleeper: it costs the AI almost nothing to draft and it is exactly the prep you never do sitting on the couch.

Where it falls over

It will over-index on the evidence you feed it. Rubbish notes in, rubbish cards out, and a card that names a specific moment you cannot remember when the parent asks about it is worse than no card at all. Read every card before you print. Two minutes per card is the right pace. Do not walk into the interview with an AI-drafted "specific" opener you cannot back up.

Try it like this

For primary generalists: give it your class list plus your reading and numeracy assessment data, and ask for the ask (section 4) to be split into a reading move and a maths move, one line each.

For VCE / senior secondary: swap section 2 for "current SAC results and predicted study score band", and add a section 6 asking for one line on Unit 4 readiness. Parents at this end of the school ask about ATARs and you may as well have the line ready.

If you only have five minutes: run the prompt for just the six or seven students you are actively worried about. The rest of the class you can talk about from memory. The worry list is where the prep pays back.

Reports are the paper trail. Interviews are the conversation. This prompt is for the conversation.