Successful School Conferences
Here's a
growing collection of resources about parent-teacher, parent-team, and
student-led school conferences.
Middle School Student-Led Conference Guide (PDF File) -- Kentucky's Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence has posted a guide to student-led conferences developed by Louisville's Conway Middle School and the Jefferson County Public Schools. This compact PDF version includes all the text and forms in the original but eliminates photos and other items that make for lengthy download times. Includes sections about goals; what parents, teachers and students need to know; typical questions and answers about the process; and forms, including a teacher evaluation checklist, a student self-evaluation, and much more.
Student-Led Conferences: Tips for Educators – As student-led conferences grow in popularity, educators are finding ways to improve their flow and productivity. Preparing students and parents for what's involved and practicing before "going live" can help, says this article at Education World.
How to Run Successful Parent-Team Conferences -- "Only by forming an alliance can parents and teachers effectively work together to help students negotiate the treacherous path through the middle school years," writes education professor and former middle grades teacher Howard M. Miller. "One potent tool for creating parent-teacher bonds at the middle level is the parent-team conference." ("Middle Matters" magazine, Fall 1998.)
The Highs and Lows of Parent-Teacher Conferences -- This 1997 story profiles several parent-teacher conferences in Louisville KY, some more successful than others. A sidebar offers some parent conference tips for teachers.
Letting Middle Graders Lead Parent Conferences -- A seventh-grade teacher explains how her team involves students in teacher-parent conferences. "Students show parents some of their work and explain their grades at a student-led conference.... The format is important, but I believe the success of a student-led conference is most determined by how well students are prepared." (Middle Matters magazine, Fall 1998)
Student-Led Conferences: A Growing Trend -- For years parent-teacher conferences have been the primary means of parent-teacher communication. But now, many schools are trying something new -- student-led conferences that communicate not only how a student's doing but also why. Education World describes the trend. (April 1999) Student-Led Conferences Hold Kids Accountable -- The student-led parent conference puts the responsibility for learning where it should be, says the article at Education World. "The teacher facilitates the conference, but the student is responsible for answering parent questions and concerns about student learning. Students share with their parents what they have learned, show their parents their student portfolios, and discuss the reasons for their academic grades." Includes links to research and other resources. (January 2001) Student-Led Conferences in the Middle Grades -- Conway Middle School in Louisville, KY holds student-led conferences for all students once per semester. Students keep portfolios for each class throughout the year in preparation for the conferences. At the conferences, students talk about their best work and teachers discuss the students' progress in all subject-area classes. You'll find the details at this page.Middle School Parent Involvement Pays Off -- "Parents can help schools enhance their programs and services, but where can parent leaders be found?" asks the lead-in to this article in Principal Leadership (September 2001). Authors Anne Henderson and Beverly Raimondo use the impressive accomplishments of Conway Middle in Louisville KY to show how schools are taking advantage of leadership institutes to support and train parents to become effective partners. At Conway, PTA membership has doubled, test scores are rising, and the school has received state awards for its gains. One key factor — student-led parent conferences.
Sending Clear Messages to Parents -- Students do better in school when their families get involved, says this recent article from Horace, the magazine of the Coalition of Essential Schools. "But unless schools send clear messages of respect, families who don't fit the mold may never trust educators enough to speak up or show up." This thoughtful, in-depth issue of Horace explores the "uneasy clash of interests between teachers and parents..."
Looking at Student Work with Parents -- "Looking at Student Work Together," a report of the Annenberg Institute Working Group on Teacher and Parent Collaboration, explores questions like: "How should issues of teaching and learning be 'made public'? What would educators learn from structured feedback from parents? What would the parent community gain from a deeper understanding of the work of schools?" The authors offer five case studies, including the experience of Sun Valley Middle School in California.
Effective Parent Communication -- After three years of trial-and-error with methods such as newsletters, phone logs, and e-mail, this intermediate school teacher discovered the power of a classroom website as a tool to communicate effectively with parents. (Classroom Leadership Online, August 2001) Also see "Back-to-School Letters and Survival Kits Build Communication" where a seventh grade team leader in Ohio describes beginning-of-the-year letters that serve as "our...initial step in reaching out to parents."
Be sure to visit our page of resources about parent and community involvement.
