Parent-teacher conferences are often a cornerstone of schools’ parent communication strategies. Parents and teachers come together to discuss each student’s progress, identity areas that may need attention, and help families feel that their children are getting the best education possible.
But there is another format for conferences that your school might consider. Student-led conferences are growing in popularity.
The Importance of Positive Parent-Teacher Relationships
Teachers and parents provide a vital support system to help students flourish. Both groups are important. But, when parents and teachers communicate and work together effectively, it can significantly impact each student’s long-term success.
Four Strategies to Strengthen Your School’s Student Council
If your school’s mission includes an emphasis on leadership and community involvement, a student council is often a great way to help students learn and share these skills.
A student council can be a key driver in cultivating leadership skills for students in the middle and upper levels
The Benefits and Challenges of Personalized Learning
Personalized learning initiatives—a specific focus on matching students’ individual learning styles and competencies to their educational processes—have long been a focus for private-independent schools. As technology makes personalized learning initiatives even more individualized, a new study has analyzed the impact of personalized learning and whether it’s truly helping students succeed.
Strengthen Your School’s Volunteer Program to Benefit Your Students and Community
Many private-independent schools want their students to become purveyors of positive change in their communities. School leaders, therefore, incorporate this fundamental goal into their missions, and create service learning programs to help deliver on their pledge.
Sexual Orientation and Harassment: Policies to Establish a Safe Environment
Every private-independent school must recognize that some students—and faculty, staff, parents, and other constituents—may be gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT). Many students question their sexual orientation as they struggle to find their identity. This brings pressures to schools to examine their policies and practices. Be prepared to respond to harassment incidents within your community—regardless of whether these incidents involve children or adults.
The 'Best Practices' Trap
The phrase “best practices” has been in widespread use for some time. In private-independent schools, the phrase at times means that Trustees or senior administrators intend to turn to a meaningful and pertinent data array—such as those compiled and maintained by the best accreditation associations. School leaders often use that array as a framework, to develop benchmarks against which to measure their school as it moves to first strengthen, mission-delivery excellence and, then, its position in the marketplace.
STOP SV: A Technical Package to Prevent Sexual Violence
This technical package represents a select group of strategies based on the best available evidence to help communities and states sharpen their focus on prevention activities with the greatest potential to reduce sexual violence (SV) and its consequences. These strategies focus on promoting social norms that protect against violence; teaching skills to prevent SV; providing opportunities, both economic and social, to empower and support girls and women; creating protective environments; and supporting victims/survivors to lessen harm. The strategies represented in this package include those with a focus on preventing SV from happening in the first place as well as approaches to lessen the immediate and long-term harms of SV.
Five Actions That Can Help Improve Student Engagement
One of your primary duties as an academic leader is to support your faculty and help them connect with their students. However, most seasoned leaders will tell you that perfecting the art of student engagement varies greatly, depending on the students’ ages and your overall school culture.
How You Can Help Your Teachers Become Remarkable Advisors
It’s up to the School Head to create your advisory program, but it’s often left to Division Heads to implement the school’s plan and ensure its continued success.
So how do you, as a link between the School Head and your faculty, help teachers become exemplary advisors?