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Student-Led Conferences Allow Girls to Shine
When the idea for instituting student-led conferences arose a few years ago, we realized that no other approach could be more congruent with our hopes and aspirations for our girls and be more in line with our mission. Each girl is very important to us, which is why we set aside this time for our girls to meet with their parents and advisors to discuss strengths, areas for growth, and future aspirations.
Student-led conferences are used as a tool to help students engage more personally in the process of self-reflection. Prior to the conferences, students take time to consider their academic progress, focusing on a growth mindset. They are encouraged to consider what has been both successful and challenging for them to date and how they can use each experience as an opportunity for growth.
In advisory, girls are coached on how to gather samples of their own work to use as examples of areas for additional growth or samples that indicate mastery of content. Each girl develops her own script and guides the meeting between her parents, advisor, and herself. According to Erin Bas, ninth grade advisor, “The work we put in beforehand really helps them not only to reflect on their progress and goals, but also to articulate them in an organized way.”
Just as each girl guides her own unique journey through life at GPS, this student-led conference model allows for personalization. Diane Walker, a math teacher at GPS since 1994, explains how her 12 advisees experienced 12 completely different conferences, because each girl presented herself, and the experience was personal and individualized for each. “The girls shine when you let them,” Walker says.
“Thirteen-year-olds are enthusiastic, curious and creative to their core, and I love working with them,” says Amy Piper, eighth grade advisor, “but the student-led conferences highlighted how perceptive they are, how self-aware and how incisive they are in identifying their needs. It was a wonderful forum to hear each advisee articulate her self-knowledge as she relayed hopes, methods, stumbles, and strides to her parents and advisor.” Piper says what she learned about eighth graders in general and her advisees in particular in a day and a half of conferences would take a year to learn in the classroom.
Students feel the same way and overwhelmingly rate their conference experience as positive. Many commented on how exciting it was to share their thoughts, ideas, and opinions on their own growth process. They actually enjoyed being in charge and sitting in the driver’s seat. One seventh grader says that she “got to talk about the things that are important to me and not what other people wanted to talk about.” A sixth grade student shares that she was able to provide her “input on how the year has been.” Middle School parents remarked on how wonderful it was to see their daughters confidently take on this leadership role with regards to their learning and development.
We hope you enjoyed seeing your daughter lead in this way. There is nothing as satisfying as witnessing these girls growing more confident, as even the most introverted of students have an opportunity to participate in an an environment that is safe and secure. These real conversations between girls and the adults in their lives have the potential to greatly influence their learning and developmental journey.
Here’s to the girls, and here’s to growing them up to be the young women they were intended to be!
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Student-led conferences are used as a tool to help students engage more personally in the process of self-reflection. Prior to the conferences, students take time to consider their academic progress, focusing on a growth mindset. They are encouraged to consider what has been both successful and challenging for them to date and how they can use each experience as an opportunity for growth.
In advisory, girls are coached on how to gather samples of their own work to use as examples of areas for additional growth or samples that indicate mastery of content. Each girl develops her own script and guides the meeting between her parents, advisor, and herself. According to Erin Bas, ninth grade advisor, “The work we put in beforehand really helps them not only to reflect on their progress and goals, but also to articulate them in an organized way.”
Just as each girl guides her own unique journey through life at GPS, this student-led conference model allows for personalization. Diane Walker, a math teacher at GPS since 1994, explains how her 12 advisees experienced 12 completely different conferences, because each girl presented herself, and the experience was personal and individualized for each. “The girls shine when you let them,” Walker says.
“Thirteen-year-olds are enthusiastic, curious and creative to their core, and I love working with them,” says Amy Piper, eighth grade advisor, “but the student-led conferences highlighted how perceptive they are, how self-aware and how incisive they are in identifying their needs. It was a wonderful forum to hear each advisee articulate her self-knowledge as she relayed hopes, methods, stumbles, and strides to her parents and advisor.” Piper says what she learned about eighth graders in general and her advisees in particular in a day and a half of conferences would take a year to learn in the classroom.
Students feel the same way and overwhelmingly rate their conference experience as positive. Many commented on how exciting it was to share their thoughts, ideas, and opinions on their own growth process. They actually enjoyed being in charge and sitting in the driver’s seat. One seventh grader says that she “got to talk about the things that are important to me and not what other people wanted to talk about.” A sixth grade student shares that she was able to provide her “input on how the year has been.” Middle School parents remarked on how wonderful it was to see their daughters confidently take on this leadership role with regards to their learning and development.
We hope you enjoyed seeing your daughter lead in this way. There is nothing as satisfying as witnessing these girls growing more confident, as even the most introverted of students have an opportunity to participate in an an environment that is safe and secure. These real conversations between girls and the adults in their lives have the potential to greatly influence their learning and developmental journey.
Here’s to the girls, and here’s to growing them up to be the young women they were intended to be!
