Districts and schools that collect students’ views about important changes in policy and practice are more likely to end up making decisions that have a positive impact—not just on student engagement, but also academic achievement.
That was one of the core takeaways from an April 9 webinar hosted by the National Association of Secondary School Principals, in which four school leaders shared how they built environments where students are true partners in shaping their schools.
Here were the critical pieces of advice they offered about how to incorporate students’ views into decisionmaking.
1. Give students multiple ways to participate
Amanda Austin, the director of the Iberville Math, Science, and Arts Academy East in St. Gabriel, La., has seen firsthand the positive effects of allowing students to have a little bit of agency and choice in how the school, which serves students in grades K-12, is run.
“I have seen higher engagement, attendance, as well as pride in our school in the three years I’ve been principal here,” Austin said.
Austin has multiple ways to collect students’ feedback. She has a student advisory group, which includes student officers of the clubs and organizations on campus. She puts out regular surveys to gauge how students are feeling about the school. And she makes time to sit with students at lunch to ensure she’s hearing as many different perspectives as possible.
Austin has also done a few “principal for the day” events, where her students can shadow her.
“To have a kindergartener come in their suit, their Sunday best, and be principal for the day, to sit in the chair, to walk around campus with a radio,” Austin said. It makes “kids feel like they have a voice and they’re important.”
Austin empowers students to represent their school in the community, too. Students share what’s happening at the magnet school, as well as what students are doing and learning, which Austin said has raised the profile and popularity of the school and increased enrollment.
2. Be intentional about including students in decisionmaking
In Grandville, Mich., students have the opportunity to be part of the “principal and superintendent student voice group,” said Adam Lancto, the principal of Grandville High School, the only high school in the district.
Once a month, the Grandville district’s principals and superintendent meet with about 10 to 12 students from different grade levels at the high school and ask them for feedback on challenges or questions that arise, Lancto said.
Students also get to ask the leaders about whatever topic they’re interested in. For instance, the discussions have led to changes in classroom furniture, as well as the creation of an artificial intelligence policy, Lancto said.
At Grandville High School, Lancto also has ensured that its school improvement team includes four or five students that serve for two or three years. This team reviews overall behavior data, school climate survey results, and schoolwide academic performance, he said.
Having student representatives involved helps identify solutions that will actually work with students, Lancto emphasized. For instance, he said the students are helping develop social-emotional learning lessons—something that’s often been hard to cover authentically at the high school level.
“It’s been really powerful to have students weighing in on what’s helpful to them,” Lancto said. It’s even led to students pitching classes that are now available, such as the aeronautics program and the automobile-technology program.
The school also uses more traditional ways to get student feedback, such as through its student council and National Honor Society, he said. These clubs have created community tailgates to bring people together, as well as a student-run campus coffee shop and a tutoring center.
3. Create a student leadership academy
For Tony Cattani, the principal of Lenape High School in Medford Township, N.J., his goal is to build up the students to be leaders, he said.
“We want the student voice, but we want to teach them how to have a voice, too,” Cattani said.
So, the school created the Lenape Leadership Academy, where students learn about the principles of leadership, self-development, and effective communication, Cattani said.
Students apply to be part of the program. They go through an interview process, they write a couple essays, and they have to get recommendations from teachers. Once they’re in the program, students do an inventory of their skill sets to figure out their strengths, as well as areas to work on. Then, Cattani leads the six sessions and teaches students about what it takes to be a leader.
Now that it’s in its second year, the students in the first cohort are the ones teaching the new students, he said. They learn from each other.
These students are starting to present at staff meetings, do the morning announcements, and take a bigger role in school decisionmaking, he said. They have helped solve problems related to the use of headphones in school, and most recently, with the school’s smartphone policy.
4. Be receptive to student feedback you might not want to hear
Sometimes, the biggest barrier to creating an environment where students have a say in what happens in the school is getting buy-in from the teachers, said Matthew Epps, the principal of the Career Technical Education Center for Shelby County Schools in Alabama.
He’s heard teachers say, “Are you meaning to tell me we’re going to ask students what they think—even about my own practice in my classroom?” Teachers are used to having control over their classroom, so asking them to give up some of that can be a challenge, Epps said.
One way Epps has addressed it is by starting with their shared mission and vision and asking his staff if they’re actually doing that, and if not, how do we get there? Epps also asks teachers what they would like to know from their students and he includes that in any student surveys.
Eventually, teachers who are first to buy in start seeing the positive effects, and then bring the “naysayers” along, Epps said.
It’s important for school leaders to model what they’re asking teachers to do, too, Epps said. Principals should also ensure they’re creating an environment where teachers can give honest feedback to school administrators.
“If we’re asking our students to have a growth mindset,” Epps said. “How do we grow if we’re not willing to be made uncomfortable and have some of our own blind spots brought into the forefront, so we can actually improve and do a better job at those?”
