Northfield Middle School Pilots Student Led Parent Conferences

On March 1, Northfield Middle School will be hosting spring parent conferences from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m.Sixth graders will have a scheduled student led conference. Other grade levels and departments willbe available to visit with parents on March 1 in traditional format conferences focusing on studentdata.

This spring’s pilot project marks the first time that we have utilized the student led format. It is anopportunity to share the responsibility for learning with our sixth graders in a very positive way.The appointments are intended to last approximately 15 minutes each. Parents are also welcome toschedule individual appointments at any time during the year upon request.

Each participant in a student led conference has a unique role: teachers are the hosts, parents listenand ask open ended questions, and students are empowered to share their work and talk aboutwhat is important to them. There is a huge body of research over the past 20 years that supportsstudent led conferences as best practice. Parent visits to school are a tremendous factor in raisingstudent achievement. Our primary goal in this endeavor is to promote a positive school visit thatdemonstrates the confidence that we have in each of our students.