Harnessing the Power of Student Voice

Format

Individual Presentation

First Presenter's Institution

Five Forks Middle School - Gwinnett County Public Schools

First Presenter’s Email Address

laura.ross@gcpsk12.org

First Presenter's Brief Biography

Laura Ross is a middle school counselor in Gwinnett County Public Schools where her focus is connecting with students to connect them to their education. She has been a school counselor for 17 years at the elementary and middle school levels. Laura is the current Georgia School Counselor Association President and was the 2020 American School Counselor Association’s School Counselor of the Year. She is also a member of Girl Talk, Inc. DEI committee and a Counselors for Computing consultant.

Second Presenter's Institution

Five Forks Middle School - Gwinnett County Public Schools

Second Presenter’s Email Address

christine.douthart@gcpsk12.org

Second Presenter's Brief Biography

Christine Douthart is the proud principal of Five Forks Middle School in Gwinnett County Public Schools. Her passion is to create an environment with a balance of strong academic press and supportive community. She has served as an educator for 27 years with 11 years spent in the classroom and 16 in administration. Christine was recognized in 2003 as the Five Forks Middle School Teacher of the Year, in 2018 with the Mary Joe Hannaford Administrator Award (GCPS), and in 2018 as the Georgia School Counselor Association Administrator of the Year.

Location

Session Five Breakouts (Verelst)

Strand #1

Heart: Social & Emotional Skills

Strand #2

Head: Academic Achievement & Leadership

Relevance

When students can contribute in a meaningful way to the educational environment the culture and the climate of the school is responsive and sustaining of student needs.

When students can contribute in a meaningful way to the educational environment they are more connected to their learning increasing academic achievement.

Brief Program Description

If heard and harnessed appropriately, student voice can be a powerful piece of data that informs the academic success, emotional development, social climate and cultural responsiveness in school. In this session, learn how a school administrator and school counselor collaborate to provide space and opportunities for students to share their experiences, perspectives, and ideas to enhance school equity, culture, classroom support, and school wide practices.

Summary

With the understanding of the importance of students’ voices in positively impacting a school’s culture and community,Five Forks Middle School has implemented several programs and opportunities that amplify student voices. Clubs such as the Jr. Building Equity Leadership Team, formal groups such as the Principal’s Student Advisory Council, and opportunities through Cogenerative Dialogues and Community Circles have given students the opportunity to share their powerful points of view on school wide practices, cultural awareness celebrations, classroom communities, and more. At Five Forks, providing these opportunities for students has allowed students to enhance their connection to educators and the school community. Students feel valued and heard and become more invested in their individual achievement and the whole school climate and culture. Harnessing student voice to inform school practices allows students to feel belonging in the school community, see themselves represented in their school community,and gives them ownership in their educational environment. Jr. Building Equity Leadership Team members have provided their perspectives on the school dress code, cultural awareness week, speak up and speak out at school week, and equitable consideration for Islamic holidays. Community circles are opportunities for students to share their individual perspectives and experiences that create a more connected school community. Seeking specific student voice through cogenerative dialogues and a principal’s student advisory council has given student voice to school practices and classroom procedures engaging more students in the learning process. Collaboration with administrators, school counselors, and teachers have allowed Five Forks Middle School to continue building opportunities to hear and harness student voice in order to enrich and refine the teaching, learning, and connecting in the school community.

Evidence

During the inaugural year of the Jr. Building Equity Leadership Team (BELT) at Five Forks Middle School a group of sixth, seventh, and eighth graders met in-person and virtual to discuss areas to improve equitable practices and procedures within the school. The team of students shared various areas of concern and implemented student learning opportunities around advocacy and cultural awareness to emphasize inclusion and combat bias and mistreatment among students. Jr. BELT also discussed concerns and possible changes to the student dress code. Guided by a school counselor the students developed a proposal to the school’s principal asking for changes related to inequitable codes for female students and to clarify the need for other dress code statements. Their prepared proposal and advocacy helped create some changes among the dress code to better support all students at the circle.

Five Forks Middle School has provided students an opportunity to speak from the heart during community circles within classroom and advisement lessons. Students have been able to express their perspectives on building empathy among peers and from teachers to students. With the practice of circles, students feel empowered to be brave and vulnerable in sharing their experiences and perspectives. Advisors and teachers are able to use student perspectives to continue building on the brave community in their classrooms during instruction and collaboration.

Christopher Emdin writes about the seven Cs to effective teaching in For White Folks Who Teach in the Hood and the Rest of Y’all Too. One of the Cs is Cogenerative Dialogues. The Office of Teacher Development with the New York City Depart of Education, in partnership with Dr. Edmund Adjapong, has also introduced cogens to educators. “Cogens are conversations in which educators and students come together to discuss the classroom experience. These conversations turn up some profound insights into the nature of the classroom because students and the teacher discuss what they see in the classroom, and the personal experiences of participants (things often left unsaid or ignored) are brought to the forefront.The goal of these cogens is to jointly construct a plan of action for improving the classroom experience, including classroom culture and instruction. The shared classroom experiences of teachers and students provide the material from which cogens start, as teachers invite students to discuss something that they all know about — their thoughts about the classroom. The invitation is extended as part of the teachers’ concern for the students and the classroom environment. It is not a requirement, a punishment, or a plea for help. It is a call for the students to share their opinions and expertise in a joint effort to understand.”

The practice and research of former school counselors/current counselor educators in the area of Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) give evidence that the positive impact of student participation and voice in educational matters can improve academic achievement, social and emotional development, and college and career readiness. “Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) is grounded in critical pedagogy and gives youth an opportunity to research a problem that’s affecting them in schools and have a say in addressing it. The impact on college and career readiness is two-fold: Youth develop agency, critical thinking skills, and tools to advocate for themselves, skills they’ll need as they transition to various postsecondary options. Educators, meanwhile, get input and solutions firsthand from students facing barriers to accessing educational opportunities, which can, in turn, also help expand access to postsecondary options.” (Edirmanasinghe, 2021) Dr. Edirmanasinghe used YPAR to support middle school Latina students’ standardized testing achievement. Dr. Ian P. Levy used YPAR through hip-hop therapy to support the social and emotional well being of students within the school community.

Learning Objective 1

Participants will develop an understanding of the importance of student voice and its potential to positively impact the school environment.

Learning Objective 2

Participants will recognize a variety of ways to harness and amplify student voice through formal committees, clubs, and student circles.

Learning Objective 3

Participants will identify and develop opportunities for student voice in their own educational spaces.

Presentation Year

2023

Start Date

3-7-2023 10:15 AM

End Date

3-7-2023 11:30 AM

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Mar 7th, 10:15 AM Mar 7th, 11:30 AM

Harnessing the Power of Student Voice

Session Five Breakouts (Verelst)

If heard and harnessed appropriately, student voice can be a powerful piece of data that informs the academic success, emotional development, social climate and cultural responsiveness in school. In this session, learn how a school administrator and school counselor collaborate to provide space and opportunities for students to share their experiences, perspectives, and ideas to enhance school equity, culture, classroom support, and school wide practices.