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Paul Revere students lead conference pilots aimed at building ownership of learning

Revere School Committee · March 18, 2026

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Summary

Paul Revere School staff described a student‑led conference pilot in fifth grade that gave students responsibility for presenting learning and goals to families; staff reported positive parent feedback but low survey response rates and plan to expand to younger grades next year.

Paul Revere School presented the results of a pilot that let students lead parent‑teacher conferences, school principal Mo Coyle told the Revere School Committee on March 17.

Owen Martel, a fifth‑grade teacher who coordinated the effort, said the program emphasizes student ownership, use of a “learning pit” model for productive struggle and goal setting. "The main focus has been the ownership of learning," Martel said, adding that 30 of 53 conferences were student led and that feedback from parents was "unanimously positive." He noted the school received only about 10 written survey responses and intends to collect more using paper forms or QR codes at future conferences.

Fifth‑grader Grace Aborn described her reflection in front of parents: "The learning pit is where we think about the problem ... and then we use tools to help us get out of the learning pit and succeed," she said. Classmate Dimitrio Ambuya said the process helped him set goals and persist through hard levels in ST Math.

Coyle said the effort is part of the district innovation plan and will expand gradually: next year the school will train fourth‑grade teachers and adapt the conference template for younger students to ensure accessibility and meaningful parent engagement. The school also allowed parents to opt in to the student‑led format during the pilot, Coyle said, and retained traditional time at the end of conferences for teacher‑parent conversations when needed.

Committee members praised the students’ presentations and asked for more detail on feedback and how teachers could privately address sensitive issues with parents. Martel and Coyle said the opt‑in approach preserved the option for traditional conferences and that the school intends to increase on‑the‑spot survey collection to improve response rates.

The presentation closed with the committee urging the school to continue collecting parent feedback and to monitor outcomes as the model scales.