Photo by Laurie King.
Fourth grader, Eleanor Couch, with her parents during Crestline conference days.
A growing trend in educational settings is the concept of student-led parent-teacher conferences. Like many schools across the country, Crestline Elementary held parent conference days following the first nine weeks of school. For parents of students in the upper elementary grades, that is grades 3-6, these conferences looked and felt different than they have in years past.
Students were not only in the classroom during the conference, but they were leading the discussion and sharing with their parents what they saw as their areas of strength and their areas where they could use some improvement. The students had to reflect on their learning and identify ways they could improve upon their performance. This process made the students accountable for their learning. It built confidence in what they are doing throughout their day. For some, it was nerve-wracking as they prepared to organize and present their thoughts while showing, explaining and discussing their current level of performance in their own words. The outcomes were worthwhile.
The students demonstrated a good grasp of the standards they are responsible for learning and how they are performing with regard to each standard. Most exhibited a confidence as they presented the information to their parents.
This first set of student-led conferences was not perfect. Parents were given an opportunity to participate in a follow-up survey and over half took that opportunity to provide feedback to make the experience more positive for all. For the spring conferences, the administration said some tweaking will take place, and a hybrid model will likely evolve.
-Submitted by Caroline Springfield
