Community Statement 1

DENNISON MASTERS PORTFOLIO 1
Community Statement
There are many opportunities for communication between parents and
teachers throughout the year. Both casual and scheduled conferences are equally
important. This artifact shows the preparation and effectiveness of student-led
conferences in a 5th grade classroom.
Jordan, Reyes-Blanes, Peel, Peel, and Lane (1998) offer some basic guidelines
to enhance teacher-parent conferences. These conferences can be approached as a
meeting between colleagues. We need to work as a team to decide behavioral and
academic expectations. This is also a good time to explain to parents what data we
use to assess students and explain any jargon they might have encountered but not
yet understand. As the name suggests, most of the time these conferences are
centered around the student but they rarely involve the student. Lusse, Notten, and
Engbersen (2019) suggest that students are the key to bridging any gaps between
educators and family. Students are familiar with both the culture at home and at
school.
In my involvement with parent-teacher conferences, I had my first
opportunity to prepare and participate in student-led conferences. Artifacts of work
were saved and students chose their best work to showcase. Each project came with
the rubric used to score it so students could show their parents how they performed
and how they planned to improve in the future. Hiatt-Michael (2004) found that
students were more focused and successful when they were personally presenting
their work to their parents. Hiatt-Michael also reported an increase in revision of
work, goal-setting, more time spent on projects, and overall increase in interest of
school work. Watching students choose which artifacts of work to show their
parents allowed me to see the pride they took in their ability to showcase their
growth and knowledge. In a few instances, students asked to revise their work
because they thought they could do better than what they had to choose from in
their stash of artifacts. I witnessed students answer for their work in a non-
judgmental way. If they performed well, the conversation went to all the positive
strategies they used to achieve their results and what they could continue to work
on to show improvement. If students did not do well, the conversation included
what they did do well, what goals the student would like to achieve, and what
supports could be offered to help them achieve their goals. In one of the conferences
I witnessed, the student did not have great scores but had shown improvement
since his last conference and was proud of his accomplishments, as he should be!
Educators can learn so much from parents. Parents might know about
bullying that has gone unnoticed in the classroom or after-school activities that
highlight the focus of the student and their family (Ediger, 2016). It is good for
educators to hear how students are developing at home, as well as parents hearing
how students are progressing at school. If parents are open to it, we can encourage
them to offer pedagogical support and educational support. When parents have
confidence in their child and encourage them with discipline and warmth, it is
pedagogical support. Educational support is the spirit of expectation parents have
towards their child’s school performance. These two supports are far more effective
than when parents focus on poor grades or unfinished homework (Lusse, Notten, &
Engbersen, 2019). One of the conferences I witnessed was with both parents
without the student. They opened up about not knowing how else to support their
struggling child. The struggle the student was facing was with her attitude toward
school more than her abilities. Her work was incomplete, not low quality. Offering
thoughts about pedagogical and educational support would have been helpful with
this student.
The most surprising aspect of student-led conferences was the amount of
preparation required. In my experience, the host teacher created a filing system for
key assignments that lined up with the teaching standards. These assignments were
stapled to the rubrics used for the assignment. The week leading up to conferences,
students helped pick from their personal assignments to showcase their skills to
their parents. They spent time looking at their work and choosing their academic
goals so they would be prepared for the conference. I helped with organizing
students’ folders of work and prepping for the flow of the continual conferences.
Desks were arranged so that there was room for a whole family to sit at the tables
where students would present their work. The part of the preparation that I missed
out on and had not thought about was training the students to lead their
conferences and choose artifacts of work that best represented their abilities. Borba
and Olvera (2001) have organized the process of preparing for student-led
conferences in six stages: students setting up one binder with dividers for all
academic subjects, students write a self-reflection for their progress in each subject,
students compile four completed pieces of work to showcase in binder for each
subject, teachers train students to lead their own conference, conference night, and
finally, an invitation to parents to write a letter to their child reflecting on their

experience with the student-led conference and share any personal feelings. The
process I experience did not line up with their six stages exactly but it was similar.
They make the observation that students are less nervous about conferences
because there are few surprises due to their involvement.
I like the practice of not surprising anyone at conferences. With casual
conferences using notes home and phone calls, parents should be well aware of the
level of their child’s classroom success. With the use of rubrics, clear expectations
for student work are explicitly stated. Student-led conferences allow students the
opportunity to be proud of their progress and hard work.

References
Borba, J. A. & Olvera, C. M. (2001). Student-led parent-teacher conferences. Clearing
House, 74(6), 333–336. https://doi.org/10.1080/00098650109599220
Ediger, M. (2016). Quality parent teacher conferences. College Student Journal, 50(4),
614–616. Retrieved from
http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eft&AN=12024539
6&login.asp&site=ehost-live
Hiatt-Michael, D. (2004). Student-led parent conferences in middle schools. School
Community Journal, 14(1), 59–80. Retrieved from
Jordan, L., Reyes-Blanes, A. E., Peel, B. B., Peel, H. A., & Lane, H. B. (1998). Developing
teacher-parent partnerships across cultures: Effective parent conferences.
Intervention in School & Clinic, 33, 141–147.
https://doi.org/10.1177/105345129803300302
Lusse, M., Notten, T., & Engbersen, G. (2019). School-family partnership procedures
in urban secondary education, part A: Strengths and limitations. School
Community Journal, 29(1), 201–226. Retrieved from

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DENNISON MASTERS PORTFOLIO 1

There are many opportunities for communication between parents and

important. This artifact shows the preparation and effectiveness of student-led

conferences in a 5th grade classroom.

to enhance teacher-parent conferences. These conferences can be approached as a

meeting between colleagues. We need to work as a team to decide behavioral and

In my involvement with parent-teacher conferences, I had my first

opportunity to prepare and participate in student-led conferences. Artifacts of work

their work to their parents. Hiatt-Michael also reported an increase in revision of

on to show improvement. If students did not do well, the conversation included

pedagogical support. Educational support is the spirit of expectation parents have

The most surprising aspect of student-led conferences was the amount of

finally, an invitation to parents to write a letter to their child reflecting on their

because there are few surprises due to their involvement.

I like the practice of not surprising anyone at conferences. With casual

opportunity to be proud of their progress and hard work.

Borba, J. A. & Olvera, C. M. (2001). Student-led parent-teacher conferences. Clearing

House, 74(6), 333–336. https://doi.org/10.1080/00098650109599220

614–616. Retrieved from

Hiatt-Michael, D. (2004). Student-led parent conferences in middle schools. School

Community Journal, 14(1), 59–80. Retrieved from

teacher-parent partnerships across cultures: Effective parent conferences.

Intervention in School & Clinic, 33, 141–147.

in urban secondary education, part A: Strengths and limitations. School

Community Journal, 29(1), 201–226. Retrieved from

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