Student Involved Conferences - Feedback

As most of you know, this fall, we upgraded the format of our conferences to a student-involved parent-teacher conference. Allowing our students a seat at the table - giving them a voice and then allowing them to hear the expectations, feedback, etc. of his/her teacher and parent(s) is a big shift. This change came with some negative feedback, but overall the response that I received was very positive. Personally, I feel as though our conferences were a huge success.

What follows is the data that was compiled from the feedback that we received after our conferences.

At the time of conferences, our K-5 student population was 198 students
The teachers at Riverside Elementary School conducted 194 conferences this fall

• 98% of our students had a conference

Of the 194 conferences, our students were involved in 183 conferences

• 94% of our conferences involved the student

12 teachers provided me with feedback after our fall student-involved parent-teacher conferences.
Of those teachers that provided feedback...

• 92% felt that having students at the conference was better
• 100% felt that the process for the new conference format was both clear and effective
• 50% felt that 15-minutes was an adequate amount of time for each conference
• 50% felt that more than 15-minutes was needed for each conference

62 parents provided me with feedback after our fall student-involved parent-teacher conferences.
Of those parents that provided feedback...

• 98% had their child attend his/her student-involved parent-teacher conference

• 60% felt that having students at the conference was better
• 25% felt that having students at the conference was no different
• 15% felt that having students at the conference was no worse
• 100% felt that the process for the new conference format was clear
• 89% felt that the process for the new conference format was effective
• 56% felt that 15-minutes was an adequate amount of time for each conference
• 44% felt that more than 15-minutes was needed for each conference

This process was new, and like anything that is new it was not perfect. Some of the things that we plan to take into consideration as we plan conferences for the future (based off of feedback received as well as personal reflection) include:

• Extending the length of the conference
• Holding conferences at an earlier time of night, especially for our younger students
• Increasing vigilance regarding the conference schedule
• Increasing vigilance regarding the length of the conference
• Including a transition time before and after each conference
• Clarifying the strengths, areas to improve upon, goals document that was sent home prior to conferences
• Giving parents more of a voice in regards to scheduling their conferences
• Providing some form of childcare during conference times

Each conference was an opportunity for everyone to practice this new format. Over time, practice leads to improvement. We are confident that this process will continue to improve as teachers, students, and parents continue to gain experience being involved in these conferences. Your patience through the growing pains is appreciated. This is something that we truly believe will benefit our students.