9th Grade Report Card Conferences — Monday, Nov. 27
Garfield High School’s 9th grade Report Card Conferences (RCC) are a part of a larger process through which the teachers and leaders at Garfield High provide explicit instruction and practice to students designed to instill the skills of self-reflection, self-advocacy and meta-learning, which is essentially recognizing and managing one’s own processes of learning. The RCCs are also one process the staff uses to coordinate services for students. During the RCC, community members model and coach speech and behavior appropriate to a professional setting; clarify graduation requirements; describe specific achievements that will give the student broader post-secondary options; and assist the student in setting realistic goals for the coming quarters. This is all done through respectful and honest inquiry and observation. The following is information to assist you in understanding the purpose of these events as well as the process behind how the conferences are run. RCCs will be held quarterly and will take place during your student’s language arts class or social studies class.
Purpose – The purpose of report card conferencing is as follows:
- To give the students an opportunity to speak with an adult in order to gain understanding of their current academic standing and its implications
- To establish next steps for success, including a written document of student responsibility
- To create structured artifacts which accurately reflect the conference and next steps identified by the student. These are shared with the teacher teams in order to meaningfully complete the process
- To model professional interaction for our students (i.e. handshakes, eye contact, professional tone)
Setup
- Students will be in the library with their peers and teacher and under the supervision of GHS staff
- Adult and student will be facing each another for the conference
- 5-7 minutes per conference
Process
As each student is called into the conferencing area of the library to have her/his conference, the student will be paired with a professional visitor from the local community, a teacher at GHS, a counselor, or an administrator, and the two of them will review the report card data: grades, attendance and credits. This will be led by the student and the student will have their report card to reference if they so choose. The student will be asked to identify the specific behaviors and actions which resulted in the outcomes reflected by the data. The results of the discussion are recorded on a Recovery Contract or Affirmation sheet as appropriate. Copies of these forms are shared with teachers in order to continue the process and the Affirmations are posted publicly in the building for students to see. At the end of the conference, the student is given a certificate which either congratulates them on their success or reminds them that there is still time to improve by changing their approach.
The most important aspect of these conversations is that community members ask open ended questions that give the students voice and a chance to reflect on their experience. As they reflect upon their behaviors and the outcomes of them, they are asked to set specific and attainable goals. If, during the conference, any important information surfaces regarding discrepancies in the data or problematic situations faced by the students, that information is recorded on the Action Item Form and is given to one of the organizers of the conferences.
Please contact Heather Snookal at hasnookal@seattleschools.org with any questions.