Student Led Conferences for Middle School will be held Thursday, March 22 from 4-8pm and Friday, March 23 from 8am-1pm.
100% ATTENDANCE GOAL: The SSIS Middle School has a 100% attendance goal for Student Led Conferences. We have met that goal for the past 3 years and are excited to continue this strong connection between student, parent, and school. An email has been sent to each parent with directions on how to sign up for your Student Led Conference time.
PURPOSE OF STUDENT LED CONFERENCES:
Student Led Conferences are an alternative to traditional parent teacher conferences that enable the student to take the stage front and center in the discussion about his/her progress and achievement. Student Led Conferences provide an opportunity for students to reflect on their work; talk about strengths and areas of challenge; and lead a conversation with their parents about next steps. Student Led Conferences put the focus on the student by having the student talk about how he or she has grown and changed over the year; identify accomplishments and struggles; reflect on who he or she is as a learner; and reflect on teacher feedback/comments. The conversation at the conference is between the student and the parent, not the parent and the teacher. Information from your child’s teachers will be included in the conference as well as student selected work and reflections.
WHAT PARENTS DO AT STUDENT LED CONFERENCES:
Parents will join their child at the conference table as partners. They will ask their child questions about what they hear and will attempt to see school through the eyes of their child. Parents are encouraged to provide positive reinforcement and encouragement to their child as they listen to their child’s reflections and assessments.
HINTS FOR PARENTS:
Based on feedback from other schools who have implemented Student Led Conferences, we have developed a few hints to help you along the way:
- Express positive interest and anticipation for the upcoming conference.
- Be on time for the conference. This will help eliminate additional stress your child might feel at being late.
- Listen and respond to the student (not the teacher).
- Express pride in growth and progress.
- Ask question (some examples are below).
- Be positive, offering to help in areas where improvement is needed.
- Recognize that students need to develop independence in the communication process. The teacher will only be there to facilitate and will not take charge of the conference (even if the student is struggling).
POSSIBLE QUESTIONS TO ASK DURING THE CONFERENCE:
- Can you explain this to me?
- How did you come up with this idea?
- How have you grown in this area?
- How can you improve in this area?
- What was important to you about this?
- If you could do this work over again, how would you change it?
- What future goals to you have as a learner?
