Prior to the 2016-17 school year, Sandburg Middle School parents had the opportunity to meet in-person for 5-minute conferences with individual teachers each fall. Though the meeting time was short, it was enough to create a relationship with teachers and talk about a student’s progress in each subject of study. Any “problem” areas that needed further attention could be followed up later in person or via phone/email. All other District 205 middle schools and York High School follow this format. As of this school year, it has been eliminated at Sandburg.
Sandburg's principal has replaced parent-teacher conferences with student-led conferences.
The concept of student-led conferences was born from a trend in education toward building “learner-centered cultures” within schools. Learner-centered cultures encourage students to reflect on their strengths/weaknesses, set goals and take ownership of their school work. These are ideas everyone can get behind and support. but should not come at the cost of parent-teacher conferences.
To call them student-led "conferences" is really a misnomer. They are student presentations. At Sandburg this past fall, parents met at school for a 10-minute meeting with their own child and a teacher facilitator. The teacher facilitator in some cases was one of the child's current teachers, in other cases, it was not a current teacher. The role of the teacher facilitator was to help the student stay on track with his or her presentation. Students covered topics including academic goals, who they sit with at lunch, what new friends they made this year, and which school supplies they need. There was no insight offered by individual teachers and — most importantly — no opportunity for parents to talk with teachers.
The Sandburg principal has confirmed that she plans to move forward with student-led conferences again next year. Dr. Moyer supports the decision. Deb Parkerson Casey and Jenn Toffler met with Dr. Moyer on December 16, 2016. During that meeting, he said he generally is not a fan of parent-teacher conferences, saying they offer “no instructional value” and are “more about public relations.” His comments seem to indicate that what’s happening at Sandburg could have implications for how the rest of the district handles conferences in the future.
Sandburg's principal has replaced parent-teacher conferences with student-led conferences.
The concept of student-led conferences was born from a trend in education toward building “learner-centered cultures” within schools. Learner-centered cultures encourage students to reflect on their strengths/weaknesses, set goals and take ownership of their school work. These are ideas everyone can get behind and support. but should not come at the cost of parent-teacher conferences.
To call them student-led "conferences" is really a misnomer. They are student presentations. At Sandburg this past fall, parents met at school for a 10-minute meeting with their own child and a teacher facilitator. The teacher facilitator in some cases was one of the child's current teachers, in other cases, it was not a current teacher. The role of the teacher facilitator was to help the student stay on track with his or her presentation. Students covered topics including academic goals, who they sit with at lunch, what new friends they made this year, and which school supplies they need. There was no insight offered by individual teachers and — most importantly — no opportunity for parents to talk with teachers.
The Sandburg principal has confirmed that she plans to move forward with student-led conferences again next year. Dr. Moyer supports the decision. Deb Parkerson Casey and Jenn Toffler met with Dr. Moyer on December 16, 2016. During that meeting, he said he generally is not a fan of parent-teacher conferences, saying they offer “no instructional value” and are “more about public relations.” His comments seem to indicate that what’s happening at Sandburg could have implications for how the rest of the district handles conferences in the future.