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During the conference, the students asked their parents to write any questions they had on an index card and to hold their questions until the end. This gave the students uninterrupted time to make their presentations.

I feel the student-led conferences empowered students and helped them claim ownership of their education. In our case, it was a responsibility that our student enjoyed.

parents attended the conference without their child and discussed their child's performance with the advisor, who served as an advocate for the student.

he asks them to choose three examples that help them tell their parents a deeper story: one that shows they have recognized both a personal strength and an area in which they are struggling. Most students, he says, have never thought about their learning in this way. Nor have most of their parents.

kids learn to advocate for themselves

“What do I do well?” and “How can I build on this?”

A powerful student-led parent-teacher conference focuses on student learning goals we can set by examining the student's work. This is an active event in which the learner and those responsible for supporting her education identify her strengths and areas of growth and make plans to address these areas.

* Students assume greater control of their academic progress. * Students accept personal responsibility for their academic performance. * Parents, teachers, and students engage in open and honest dialogue. * Parents attend conferences at increased rates. * Students learn the process of self-evaluation. * Students develop organizational and oral communication skills.

"From a teacher's perspective, we were able to get a better picture of each child. It forced us to sit down with each student and review strengths and weaknesses. This conversation often told us the students learned more than perhaps we had measured through conventional assessments."