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Areas of Impact

School-Wide
Classroom

Age Group

High school and middle school

Length

20-30 minutes 

Frequency

Yearly 

Type

Print Materials

Student-Led Conference Family Homework

Self Awareness & Growth Mindset, Self-Advocacy, Collaboration & Community Skills

The Family Homework is a concrete way for families to share their voice in their child’s accomplishments and growth.

Overview

This document invites families to write a letter that is included in the student’s portfolio.

Context

After the family conference, families are encouraged to write a family letter responding to their student’s portfolio and conference. Because we have many families whose home language is Spanish, we have a Spanish version as well.

Implementation

Since this activity may be new for many families, it’s important to make it as welcoming to them as possible. Writing in the home language, assuring families that it is to their child/custodian rather than the teacher, and being flexible in its format (e.g. hand-written or digital) are all important. Finally, students often enjoy turning the tables on their parents/guardians by assigning a “due date” for them. That student-initiated deadline helps everyone reach their goal!

Related Content:

Student-Led Conference Portfolio Checklist

Student-Led Conference Work Selection Checklist

Student-Led Conference Work Reflection

Student-Led Conference Goal-Setting

Student-Led Conference Community Commitments Checklist

Student-Led Conference Community Reflection

Student-Led Conference Family Letter

Student-Led Conference Checklist

Fostering Student Accountability Through Student-Led Conferences by Patti Kinney

A School-Wide Approach to Student-Led Conferences:  A Practitioner's Guide by Patti Kinney, Mary Beth Munroe and Pam Sessions.

See also resources at the Association for Middle Level Education (AMLE)