Student-Led Conferences are a signature practice at High Tech High from kindergarten to grade 12. We believe that student-led conferences help families understand what the school values and what learning at the school looks like for their students. When students reflect on their experience in school, celebrate strengths, and identify areas for growth with adults who care about them, they take ownership of their learning and are more likely to learn deeply and succeed in their endeavors.

This is why we are so excited to welcome every family on campus for SLCs over the next couple of weeks. We believe that SLCs are among the most authentic and important forms of assessment using dialogue. SLCs create opportunities for students to lead conversations about their learning (strengths and growth edges) and develop the creative agency to identify needs and take courageous action in their world. SLCs help students self-assess their growth and to create plans with their teachers and family for their future. SLCs invite us all to ask, “How can we, as students, educators, and families, be collaborative partners in education?”

SLCs provide opportunities for our families to understand what it looks like and feels like to learn through projects–from the student’s perspective. SLCs are grounded in a broad collection of experiences, and at HTH, that means project work, like fieldwork, original research, drafts with critiques and revisions, feedback from community partners, and possibly even projects being readied for exhibitions.

Hear from seniors at High Tech High North County in this 2017 video reflect on what it means to discuss their progress and make goals during a student-led conference.