{"id":21245,"date":"2019-11-04T06:45:29","date_gmt":"2019-11-04T10:45:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/?p=21245"},"modified":"2020-02-25T18:25:37","modified_gmt":"2020-02-25T22:25:37","slug":"student-led-conference-as-celebration","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tiie.w3.uvm.edu\/blog\/student-led-conference-as-celebration\/","title":{"rendered":"The student-led conference as celebration"},"content":{"rendered":"

What does it take for us to see parent-teacher conferences as celebrations<\/em>? What does it take for families to see those conferences as celebrations? And how can we make sure that students themselves feel celebrated for their achievements?<\/p>\n

We know student-led conferences<\/a> push our school systems in the right direction, to a place where students demonstrate agency and voice in explaining who they are as learners.<\/p>\n

But do they work?<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was just great to see like two really big pieces of my life, school and home, come together. And it just felt really great that both sides were really celebrating me and I felt humbled and just really special for that half an hour, even though it\u2019s like a conference. It made me feel really great and made me reflect on how I\u2019ve been doing and I\u2019m really proud of the work I\u2019ve been doing.\u201d<\/p>\n

–Morgan, 7th grade student<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Point, set, MATCH. Now let’s rewind, and figure out what made this particular conference so successful.
\n<\/p>\n

Meet Morgan, and Morgan’s mom<\/h4>\n

This past spring, Morgan, a 7th grader at Frederick H. Tuttle Middle School in South Burlington, VT, sat down with her mom, her math teacher and a student teacher, for one incredibly powerful student-led conference. Morgan had notes. She’d prepared a short slideshow. And all the adults in the room showed up ready to listen.<\/p>\n

\n
\"How