Students Lead Conferences at SJHS

Parent-teacher conferences at a junior high school are often predictable.  Parents and students will most likely meet with each teacher for ten to twenty minutes to discuss how their student is doing in class, and what kind of stuggles and successes they may be having.  However, once a year, Springville Junior High hosts a totally different type of conference.  Along with traditional conferences at the end of the first and third terms, SJHS holds a conference midway through fourth term called student-led conferences.  According to Ms. Dunn, an English teacher at SJHS, the purpose of student-led conferences is to help students and parents communicate about school and all of the things they learn.  

The main difference between student-led conferences and parent-teacher conferences is the fact that the student leads the student-led conference, rather than the teachers facilitating.  “I feel like my role as a teacher [during student-led conferences] is to sit back, and let the student take charge,” said Ms. McBride, another English teacher at SJHS.  According to Ms. Dunn, teachers also help students collect work and organize their portfolios.  (Each student is beforehand given a portfolio to hold work from each of their classes.)

The idea for student-led conferences is still fairly new.  According to Mr. Van Ausdal, the principal of SJHS, there are a few schools he knows of that hold student-led conferences, or at least something similar, but the concept is becoming more common.  “I think often students don’t tell their parents what they are learning or working on in their classes, and parents don’t really get the chance to see the actual work that students are doing,” said Ms. Dunn, “Student-led conferences are a chance to change that.”  Overall, most teachers seem in favor of student-led conferences.  “I don’t think students value it as much as they should,” said Mrs. Luke, one of the foods teachers at SJHS,  “It should be a showcase of all the amazing things that a student should be proud of.”