Student-Centered Conferences: Creating a Culture of B’tzelem Elohim
Ian Cohen is the Head of Middle School at The Shefa School, a Jewish day school in Manhattan for students with language-based learning disabilities. Dr. Cohen oversees school culture, curriculum, and instruction. Previously, he held leadership roles at Luria Academy and worked as a psychologist in Hewlett-Woodmere public schools for 12 years.
Genesis 1:27: And God created humankind in God’s image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
Betzelem Elohim. Every child is made in God’s image. This idea is fundamental to creating learning environments that honor the unique potential and worth of every child in a school. When truly embraced, this belief fosters a culture of deep respect, equity, and belonging, ensuring that every student feels valued and seen. It also serves as a guiding principle for meeting the diverse needs of all learners, ensuring that each child receives the support and challenge necessary to thrive. However, sustaining this perspective requires intentional effort, as the daily demands and stress of teaching—lesson planning, classroom management, assessments, and administrative responsibilities—can easily shift educators’ focus away from this foundational value. But how, as educators, do we keep the value of betzelem Elohim at the forefront of our minds, hearts, and decisions during the long, arduous school year that is flooded with a seemingly endless and stressful stream of tasks, challenges, and responsibilities? One of the answers to these questions is to build culture-defining structures, through a systems-thinking approach, into the school year that ensures educators are focused on key fundamental values and guided by them. One such culture-defining structure at our school is Student-Centered Conferences; a structure that not only enriched the parent-teacher conference process specifically, but also helped instill a sense of betzelem Elohim throughout the middle school’s culture.
At The Shefa School (Manhattan, NY), a Jewish day school for students with language-based learning disabilities, middle school students actively participate in their parent-teacher conferences. This approach is rooted in the school’s commitment to betzelem Elohim. By placing students at the center of these important conversations, we ensure that their voices are heard, their growth is acknowledged, and their needs and potential are uniquely nurtured. The impact of this model also extends beyond conferences, shaping the overall culture of the school by fostering self-awareness, reflection, collaboration, and mutual respect among students, teachers, and families.
What makes our student-centered conferences distinct from other models (e.g., student-led conferences) is the intentional focus on purpose, process, and most of all, values that shape how they are designed and conducted. We refer to them as “student-centered” rather than “student-led” because, while students play an active role, the true focus is on the student’s individuality, their specific learning journey, and their self-awareness—the students are at the center even when an adult is prepping, leading, listening, or talking. These conferences are a true representation of the uniqueness and limitless worth of each student, who in these moments is undeniably seen by all as being made in the image of God.
Purpose: A Structured and Meaningful Progression
Each conference is carefully structured to serve a unique and intentional purpose. Students are explicitly taught the expectations for each conference and how to prepare and participate.
- November conference. Establish relationships and collaborative partnerships between teachers and families while discussing initial student goals, goals that students themselves created with their advisor (parents meet with teachers without students, and teachers present the students’ goals).
- February conference. Report on progress and explore strategies for improvement in the next semester (students participate).
- June conference. Celebrate achievements, reflect on growth, and establish potential goals for the following year (students lead and give a presentation with slides).
By clearly defining the objectives of each conference and preparing students in advance (and explicitly teaching the process), we created a framework that fosters continuous reflection and goal-setting, making these conversations more than just formal check-ins.
Process: Preparing Students for Meaningful Engagement
To support students in these conferences, we have implemented a structured preparatory process, designed by a committee of teachers. This preparation is embedded into the school’s curriculum so that self-reflection and goal-setting are not isolated to conference days but are ongoing throughout the year. Teachers guide students through self-reflections, helping them identify strengths, challenges, and actionable strategies for improvement. Having a dynamic and interactive process throughout the year fosters teacher and student buy-in, ensuring that both parties see these conferences not as an additional task but as a core part of a student’s own unique educational philosophy. These preparatory meetings happen during advisory and during a couple of mornings that are solely devoted to preparing for the conferences (we call them student conferences prep mornings).
Values: Guided by Betzelem Elohim
At its heart, our student-centered conference system is deeply tied to Jewish values. Betzelem Elohim is not just an abstract ideal or unattainable distant notion—it actively informs how these conferences are structured and conducted. By ensuring that students are heard, respected, and supported in their growth, we elevate these gatherings into meaningful and spiritual moments. Families and educators see these conferences as powerful turning points in a student’s journey, strengthening the partnership between home and school and fostering a shared commitment to a student’s unique needs and goals.
The Impact on Students, Teachers, and Families
The introduction of student-centered conferences has significantly impacted students, parents, and teachers.
For students, this model reinforces the importance of self-awareness, self-reflection, and self-advocacy. They learn to articulate their strengths, recognize areas for growth, and take responsibility for their progress. By actively participating in these conversations, students develop lifelong skills in self-awareness, communication, and resilience—essential tools for academic, social, and spiritual success.
For parents, these conferences reframe the narrative of their child’s education. Rather than receiving a one-sided report from teachers, parents witness their child owning their learning journey. This format strengthens parent-student relationships, as well as parent-teacher relationships, and fosters deeper engagement in their child’s development. Parents often express that hearing their child speak about their growth is more insightful than any written report card.
For educators, the shift to student-centered conferences enhances the teacher-student relationship. Teachers report that guiding students through this reflective process deepens their understanding of each student’s unique needs, learning styles, and goals. It fosters a culture in which teachers and students collaborate rather than operate in separate spheres. The structured preparation ensures that feedback is more focused, constructive, and aligned with each student’s unique personality, circumstances, and trajectory. And most of all, betzelem Elohim is at the forefront of the minds, hearts, and decisions of the educators, even with all the lesson planning, classroom management, assessments, and administrative responsibilities.
The Impact on a School Culture
While student-centered conferences are now one of the middle school core experiences and manifestations of betzelem Elohim, they are only one expression of the school’s larger ethos. These values are woven throughout the school’s culture in multiple ways:
- Curriculum Integration. Students engage in self-reflection and goal-setting activities throughout the year, reinforcing the mindset that learning is a personal and evolving journey.
- Student Committees. Students are encouraged to voice their ideas, advocate for change, and take initiative in shaping their learning environment.
- Classroom Culture. Teachers actively solicit student input, creating dialogue-driven classrooms where students are not passive recipients of knowledge but active participants in their education.
- Jewish Values in Action. The principle of betzelem Elohim is not just referenced during conferences, it is a guiding force in the school’s commitment to respect, dignity, and individualized learning. It has also inspired other initiatives to be guided by betzelem Elohim and for the application of other values to elevate the meaning and importance of core school procedures, routines, and protocols.
A Model for School Structures Rooted in Jewish Values
Our approach to student-centered conferences is not just about redesigning a meeting format—it is about intentionally creating school structures that reflect and reinforce our deepest Jewish values. When betzelem Elohim is truly at the heart of educational systems, it transforms not only how we assess student progress but also how we see, hear, and support each individual child. This is not something that happens passively; it requires deliberate choices, thoughtful planning, and structures that keep these values at the forefront of daily practice. The success of the student-centered conferences demonstrates that when schools build intentional systems rooted in a value, that value becomes more than an abstract ideal—it becomes lived experiences which shape the culture, relationships, and daily interactions within the school.
This model serves as a reminder that Jewish values must not remain aspirational; they must be woven into the structures that define school life—from curriculum design to advisory programs to leadership opportunities. When schools commit to aligning their systems with their values, they create environments where students feel seen, empowered, and deeply connected to their own learning journeys. Student-centered conferences illustrate that with careful design, we can create school cultures that not only educate but elevate, ensuring that every child is recognized as having been made in the image of God.
Ian Cohen is the Head of Middle School at The Shefa School, a Jewish day school in Manhattan for students with language-based learning disabilities. Dr. Cohen oversees school culture, curriculum, and instruction. Previously, he held leadership roles at Luria Academy and worked as a psychologist in Hewlett-Woodmere public schools for 12 years.
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