Page 6 Students First Every quarter parents visit students in their classrooms at Briggs Elementary School. The point of the visit is to attend a student-led conference. These conferences are a unique characteristic of a Leader in Me school. They are an integral part of the program. Briggs is in year two of the Leader in Me program, which focuses on helping all students find their own special leadership skills by using Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits for Successful People. Students lead their own academic and goal oriented conference. The conferences provide an opportunity for students have ownership of their learning process and academic growth. Parents sit down with their student for the conference, during which the student presents their data notebook. Within the data notebook, the student shows visitors their progress for the school year thus far in their core subject areas, Accelerated Reader, mastery of math facts, and the Farm to School Sustainability Initiative. The students discuss their progress in these areas from the last nine weeks conference, as well as new goals for the coming quarters. The students enjoy taking ownership of the data, goals, and conferencing with their parents/guardians. Sixth grade student Alyssa said, “Students get to show their parents what they have been working on. I like showing my parents my goals and steps that I have been using in order to reach my AR goal.” The parents love seeing their student engaged in their progress and being able to discuss what they have learned and their goals for the following quarter. Jennifer, a parent to a 4th and a 5th grader at Briggs, said, “I love that the students take ownership of their own performance. I like how they are able to communicate how they are growing. For my two girls, they like having the one-on-one time with me to take the lead in the conversation about their education.” Student-led conferences enable students at Briggs the opportunity to lead with the adult in their life.
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