Student-Led Conferences

STORY BY BREE MOORE »
Student-led conferences were
introduced to us last year along with
Career Cruising. Each fall, students are
asked to make a presentation stating
their plans for the future. The purpose
of these conferences is to encourage
them to prepare for life outside of high
school and to give them a chance to
present it to their parents and Power
Hour teacher.
Mrs. Cathie Klein, EHS Career &
Life Planning and Internship teacher,
has Sophomore students in her power
hour class, so they were familiar with
the program this time around. First,
they talked about each of the talking
points the IPS committee had provided

and why the categories were import-
ant at this stage in their high school

career. Then students worked on how

they would present their informa-
tion. Klein was there to help answer

questions and/or provide clarification.
Students could work with each other
and help one another if they chose to
partner up to prepare.

Mrs. Klein thinks student-led con-
ferences are an excellent tool in help-
ing students with general presentation

skills, decision making and steps in
planning for their future.

“I felt very good after I did it be-
cause I learned a lot about getting

money for college,” said Sophomore
Zeke Reazin, “my parents really loved
my conference because my teacher
knows a lot about it and could tell
them even more than I knew.”
She enjoyed watching the students

prepare for the conference and con-
duct their conference with confidence.

Klein is excited to watch her students
grow with the program and enjoys the
process of preparing her students for
presenting their goals and plans for
their future.
Meeting with their parents each
year creates a team approach for the
student that guides the students to
plan, work toward and achieve their
future goals.
“I was very proud of my Advisory

students.” Klein said, “I saw tremen-
dous growth in their presentation

skills and knowledge about gradua-
tion requirements, activities they are

involved in and plans for junior classes
that match a career goal or current
post-secondary education plans.”
While some students went all-out
for their presentations, other students
took a more laid-back approach.
Zeke’s brother Caleb Reazin, Jr., was
in Band Director Damian Johnson’s
power hour.
“I didn’t really prepare for the
conference, I mainly stuck to the same

points as last year.” explained Reaz-
in. “I do wish I had prepared more for

my conference with this small details
of my future plan, my parents also
wished I had prepared more with small
details.”
Caleb didn’t feel the need to really
have a student-led conference, he
thought it was going to be an easy
talk to the teacher and realized that
this was his future he was talking
about and that this was something a
little bigger.