Increasing Parent Involvement through Student Led Conferences

Julia Schemm, 2nd grade teacher at Lake Forest Elementary School, shares her experiences using Student Led Conferences.

My fall attempt at student led conferences had little success. Most parents attended the conference without their child (for various reasons), so, I began thinking of how I could raise the participation level successfully. Two ideas sprung into my mind: good food and a performance!

I began coaching my students early in the year about our end of the year “Celebration of Learning.” At various times we would get out our data notebooks and writing portfolios to celebrate our success as well as recognize areas of weakness. My students became motivated and driven, almost to the point of obsession about charting their accomplishments. Excitement built as we approached our “Celebration of Learning.”
The day finally came. We began our program with our own version of the story, When It’s the Last Day of School, by Maribeth Boelts. We then shared a beautiful slideshow of photographs from the year that recognized field trips, friendships made, and academic themes studied. Next, students joined their families to begin the long awaited student led conferences.

As I circulated through the classroom, I was so proud of my students and how they were able to share their second grade accomplishments with their families! I watched in amazement as they guided their parents through their data notebooks and writing portfolios. The discussions I overheard made me realize how aware they were of their progress.

Student comments:

“Mom, you can see I was on green everyday this nine weeks. That means you did a good job of making sure I got to school on time.”

“Dad, I didn’t do great on my math test on money. That’s something I need to work on this summer so I can be ready for third grade.”

“Look at how hard I worked on my AR goal each nine weeks!”



"Do you see how I met each of my MAP goals?”

“I like student led conferences because I got to spend time with my family and show my parents that I worked hard everyday. I’m sure my parents were proud how I improved on my multiplication and how I got to school on time.”

Parent Comments:

"At times like that I am so proud of my child and all that she has accomplished. It is so exciting to see all that they have done.”

“I think the student led conference is great. My child was so enthusiastic while showing us his data notebook. It was nice to see all that he has accomplished since the beginning of the school year and to see the pride he has in his work!"

The end of the year student led conferences were a powerful way to celebrate our accomplishments. Parents were made aware of the areas in which their child has worked and shown gains this year. It also gave parents ideas of their child’s weak areas that they may need to work on over the summer. My parent response was extremely positive. Each family recognized that by having their child keep track of his/her success and accomplishments gave him/her a sense of pride and made students feel accountable for their work.

For more information about about her Student Led Conferences, you may contact Julia at jschemm@greenville.k12.sc.us or 355-4021.