It's sounds like Kelly the school or the district you are in is quite smaller than ours. In ours there are 22 grade schools and 5 junior highs. My daughter has been in the district 9 years and I have never gone to a meeting. The only ones I have been to have been on curriculum nights where the PTA knows they will have an audience. Meetings are held 50% during the day and 50% at night. 99% of people who belong to the PTA never go to the meetings. I have been to the student led meetings. There were two other conferences going on while the teacher (who's not my daughter's teacher this year) of my daughter walks around and observes. the info including MAP goals and MAP targets is info parents already know and quite frankly useless for kids in the 99 percentile. I'm guessing others on this thread are on the same boat. My memory is more hazy with the grade school days but I believe only the principal was at the meetings. I also would add and Frannie can back me up is the schools in the district are for the most part very good schools.
I think in our district (same as nicolesdad), it really depends on the school. When we first started student led conferences, they weren't student led at all. As the years have progressed, I am pleased with how the conferences unfold.
For fall conferences, they are scheduled with no other students/parents in the room. I prefer fall to the winter when others are present especially for ds as he needs more time with the teacher to discuss his progress and we all make mutual goals to ensure he shows a years growth.
My kids have presented their portfolios, MAP scores and goals, behavior charts that they grade themselves on (teachers interject with where they feel the kids are). We discuss challenges. The kids prepare questions at home that they can ask the teacher when no one else is around.
Just my 2 cents...
