Article 1: Student led conferences

Sarah Brown

March 26, 2011

Article 1

http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail?hid=122&sid=1d89be19-485c-4afb-b5cb-d24e0cec7508%40sessionmgr111&vid=10&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=nfh&AN=2W63231914110

            My article comes from Yakima Washington. Several high schools and a few juniors highs have adapted a new way to hold conferences.; student led.  Student led conferences have been gaining much attention in the Yakima Valley since the late 1990’s.  This form of conferences helps students take responsibility for their education and brings parent involvement into the schools.  Some districts hold student-let conferences once and year while other hold them twice a year.   The first conference held in the fall is to set goals for the year.  The second one is held in the fall and coordinates with schedule classes for the fall.  So how did student-led conferences come about?  The conferences came about when the school did not meet AYP (Adequate Yearly Progress), according to No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, Title 1 schools.  So to show improvement, the school started holding student-let conferences that emphasized parent involvement and improving academic achievement.  This helped hold students, parents and schools accountable for education.  Besides accountability, student-led conferences have also increased the number of parents coming to conferences.  At Ike High School, only 5% of parents were coming to traditional conferences.  Since starting student-led conferences, that number has jumped to nearly 100%. 

            At Urbandale Middle School, as of next year, we will be starting student-let conferences.  So I found this article interesting.  I feel that we need to start holding students, even at the Junior High level, more accountable for their education.  Students need to start thinking about what they want out of their education and how they are going to get there.  Once students hit a certain grade, it seems like they don’t care about their education or going to school.  As teachers, we need to have students starting thinking about the purpose of our teaching. 

            What I really liked about this article was how the students felt.  The students quoted in this article all said how much they enjoyed being able to represent themselves and not someone else.  I think that motivating students to want to do well to show their parents is a great way to hold students accountable.  I also liked the fact that almost all parents came to conferences.  As a teacher preparing for conferences and all the work it takes, it is disappointing to have only a handful of parents show up.  

            The information that I do not like is each conferences is schedule for 20 minutes each.  When you have a large school and a large number of students, making it through all students in 20 minutes is almost unheard of.  Right now most conferences are allotted 7-10 minutes each.  Doubling the amount of time needed for conferences. 

            Overall I like the idea of student-led conferences. I know several teachers are hesitant to change.  I hope that next year, as we move onto a new way of holding conferences, it will be a big success.