Parent questionnaire for teachers: best questions back to school that unlock valuable parent feedback

Launching a parent questionnaire for teachers at the start of the school year is the best way to get actionable insights about your new class. Collecting feedback from parents gives teachers a head start in understanding each student’s personality, learning style, and support needs.

Compared to traditional forms, back to school parent questionnaires built with conversational AI surveys engage families in a much more natural—and revealing—dialogue. You can easily create a custom survey for your classroom using the AI Survey Generator.

Questions about student strengths and learning preferences

Personalized teaching starts with truly understanding each child’s unique strengths, interests, and learning styles. The better we know our students from day one, the more effectively we can support them throughout the year.

• What are your child’s greatest strengths or talents?

  That’s wonderful to hear. Can you tell me about a specific situation where your child used this strength at home or in school?

• What activities, topics, or subjects does your child get most excited about?

  Could you share an example of when your child expressed enthusiasm for this topic recently?

• How does your child prefer to learn new things (e.g., by reading, hands-on activities, listening, or discussing)?

  Has your child mentioned any particular learning method that works best in past years?

Follow-up probes like these—powered by Specific’s automatic AI follow-up questions—make the survey feel more like a conversation than a questionnaire. These dynamic follow-ups help parents express richer details, which means teachers get the nuance they need. It’s not just theory: Conversational surveys like these elicit more specific, relevant, and clear responses than old-school forms. Studies show conversational approaches generate higher quality feedback and much deeper engagement. [3]

Understanding accommodations and support needs

Early awareness of each student’s accommodations, medical needs, and behavioral considerations sets everyone up for success. It ensures no child falls through the cracks and helps us proactively create a supportive classroom environment.

• Are there any learning challenges or developmental needs we should be aware of?

  Thank you for sharing. Have any strategies worked well for your child in the past when facing these challenges?

• Does your child have any medical considerations (allergies, medications, etc.) that may affect their school experience?

  Are there any signs or symptoms we should look out for, or specific steps you’d like us to follow in an emergency?

• Are there behavioral supports or routines that help your child feel comfortable and focused during the school day?

  Could you describe a routine or support strategy that’s especially helpful for your child?

AI-driven follow-ups from Specific gently probe for useful specifics, always keeping the tone constructive and supportive—never intrusive. This approach is backed by evidence: when surveys include dynamic, conversational follow-ups, respondents provide more helpful and detailed answers, making those insights immediately more valuable for teachers. [2]

Communication and family engagement questions

When teachers understand a family’s communication preferences and routines, it helps foster trust, ensures nothing falls through the cracks, and encourages greater parental involvement all year. Parental involvement itself has a powerful effect: students with engaged parents are up to 25% more likely to excel academically and have better attendance and graduation rates. [1]

• What’s your preferred way for us to contact you? (e.g., email, phone, text, communication app)

  Are there times or days when you’d prefer not to be contacted?

• What’s the best way to keep you informed about your child’s progress and school activities?

  If you prefer updates by app or in person, can you share details on what works best for your family?

• Are there scheduling considerations we should know, such as work shifts, caregiving, or family obligations?

  Is there a good window during the week or weekends when you’re most available for school meetings or events?

• How would you like to be involved in the classroom or at school this year?

  Are you interested in volunteering, helping from home, or participating in any school committees?

AI-powered surveys can clarify ambiguous responses in real time, letting teachers gently confirm details about scheduling or involvement without pressure. These conversational surveys feel friendlier and less formal than typical forms—helping parents share openly and honestly, which, research shows, directly improves student outcomes and behavior in class. [1] To make response analysis easy, teachers can use AI survey response analysis to instantly summarize and chat about all feedback collected.

Ready-to-use parent feedback survey template

With Specific’s AI, teachers can put together a complete, conversational parent questionnaire in just a few minutes. To get started, simply give the AI Survey Generator a prompt like this:

Create a conversational parent questionnaire for back-to-school. Help me understand each student’s strengths, learning preferences, and interests; collect information about any accommodations, medical, or behavioral needs; and ask about my families’ communication preferences and involvement. Make the questions open-ended and include 1–2 AI follow-ups for each. Use a supportive and approachable tone suitable for K–8 families.

The AI will build out all the key questions, design natural follow-up probes, and set the friendly voice teachers want. If you want to tweak or add something, you can do that instantly by chatting with the AI Survey Editor.

Start the school year strong—create your own survey and unlock valuable parent perspectives that set every student up for success.