Teachers, parents and union representatives urge Mount Diablo Unified to restore 10-day parent conferences

At the Mount Diablo Unified School District Board of Education meeting on March 12, multiple teachers, parents and union representatives urged the board and district negotiators to restore 10 days for elementary parent-teacher conferences, saying the current eight-day schedule is insufficient for translation, relationship-building and equitable family engagement.

The comments were made during the public comment period by educators and union leaders who said conferences are often the only face-to-face contact some families have with school staff. "This way of acting is not collaboration," said Alyssa Juarez, identified in her remarks as vice president for Medea, referencing district bargaining over conference scheduling. "The district's idea of bargaining is to tell Medea what you want and then refuse to accept anything else." Juarez said the union surveyed members and that the majority asked for more conference time and a later placement in the year; she said the district has offered no more than eight days and asserted nearby districts do not offer as many conference days as MDUSD.

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