I ike the student led conferences. I like seeing my kids take charge. This is when they get to advocate with me sitting there. My son especially, whose needs are not being met in our district, is more confident with me next to him to speak up to his teachers. The kids do go over some work samples. They go over fall MAP scores and they state what their goal for spring MAP is. This often differs from the targeted growth target. They write a plan ahead of time to state how they will meet that goal. I see it as prepping them for the future as adults in the workplace. Teaching them how to set goals and set up the way to achieve them.

If I need to speak with a teacher without my kids, I have no problem emailing or calling and doing just that.