This year, North Phoenix Prep has joined several other Great Hearts academies in adopting the practice of student-led conferences. Our decision to adopt the student-led conferences model came as a result of careful reflection and deliberation on our leadership team. When we asked ourselves what we really wanted for our students, we saw that having the students lead their own conferences would encourage them to become active, not passive, participants in the process of their own learning. We also saw that by having the students lead their own conferences, we could alleviate the burden on parents to serve as intermediaries between the teacher and the student. Most importantly, we saw an opportunity to reinforce a central message of the education that our students receive here, that our students are the captains of their own ships.
In January, then, we will hold student-parent-teacher conferences to discuss the next steps in our students’ academic growth. In preparation for these conferences, we ask students to develop a
Student Growth Plan (SGP). The SGP is a one-page document that captures the themes of the 1st quarter evaluations, puts them into context, and documents the key area the student chooses as an area for growth in the coming year. As an aid to completing their SGP, we also provide an
Action Menu with two lists. The first contains 14 Learning Techniques that Research Shows to be Most Effective. The second list is categorized to provide a long list of ideas a student might choose to employ in their SGP. Students will complete this work during school on Monday, January 9th.
After completing the SGP, we ask that students attend their conferences to share and discuss the plan with their teachers and parents. The conference will aim to understand the thinking behind the student’s choice of an area of focus for growth, as well as understand how the student can be supported, and to provide guidance as needed. Some students may choose to modify their plans after the conference consultation.
We have seen the student-led conference paradigm work well during at other Great Hearts academies, where even our youngest students took the process seriously and led very productive conferences. After we first implemented student-led conferences, one of our teachers had the following to say:
“I as well as the rest of the faculty already envy our scholars’ opportunity to experience this curriculum as middle/high school students; now we also envy them the chance to begin a journey of critical self-awareness, shepherded by a cadre of caring adults.”
We received similar feedback from parents and students as well, because we created conditions wherein our students took ownership of their education, with the support, guidance, and mentorship of teachers and parents.
It is our sincerest hope that we will continue to cultivate a joyful, compassionate community of lifelong learners through this process at North Phoenix Prep.