Using Student Voice to Build Trauma-Informed Schools

Format

Workshop

First Presenter's Institution

Kern County Superintendent of Schools

First Presenter’s Email Address

albaptiste@kern.org

First Presenter's Brief Biography

Allyson Baptiste is a Prevention Specialist for the Kern County Superintendent of Schools’ Foster & Homeless Education Program & a Producer of the youth-led podcast called “Youth Voice Amplified.” Ms. Baptiste serves as the Advisor of the Kern CoC’s Youth Action Board & is the Chair of the Kern CoC’s Homeless Youth Committee. Ms. Baptiste has 10 years of experience working with homeless youth & foster youth, both on micro and macro levels. Ms. Baptiste has her Master of Social Work degree from UC Berkeley & strives to be an advocate for youth experiencing adversity, such as foster care & homelessness.

Location

Session Six

Strand #1

Heart: Social & Emotional Skills

Strand #2

Home: Family & Community Engagement

Relevance

When youth are engaged with their school sites and adult-youth partnerships are strong on campus, youth are less likely to drop out of high school and are less likely to be chronically absent. Student voice initiatives assist school personnel in connecting with their students and making systematic changes that help students remain engaged in school. Per the Quaglia Institute, students who believe they have a voice in school are seven times (7x) more likely to be academically motivated. Student voice initiatives are particularly important when dealing with vulnerable student subpopulations, such as homeless and foster youth, as they give them a sense of agency and control over their educational futures, and the initiatives assist them with engagement. By engaging the student to be more involved in school, the entire family can potentially benefit. By creating more passionate homeless & foster students, it can be easier to engage with caregivers and parents as a whole.

Brief Program Description

Student voice is the practice of being intentional about receiving feedback from students in order to make systemic changes at schools and districts. Student voice initiatives engage vulnerable student subpopulations, such as homeless students, with their schools, which can lead to lower rates of chronic absenteeism and high school dropouts. Come learn how to implement these practices to improve your school climate and attendance rates!

Summary

During this workshop, participants will learn what student voice is, how to implement student voice initiatives on school sites and at districts, the evidence behind student voice initiatives, how to get started on a student voice project & why student voice initiatives are critical for vulnerable student subpopulations, such as foster and homeless students. Student voice is the practice of being intentional about receiving feedback from students in order to make systemic changes on school sites and at school districts.

During the workshop, participants will be provided with “KCSOS Student Voice Idea Menus,” assisting them in determining what type of student voice project they would like to start with. Depending on which student voice project they select will determine what other supplemental tools are provided to them during the workshop. For example, if a participant selects that they would like to create a student voice photojournalism project with their homeless students, they will be provided with the step-by-step guide on how to do so. If a participant selects that they would like to create a youth advisory board, then they will be given handouts and tools assisting in getting them started. All participants will also be given free access to the Kern County Superintendent of Schools’ student voice e-toolkit, which provides multiple training videos, handouts, step-by-step guides, and resources on various student voice topics. That e-toolkit is available at: www.kern.org/hip

After a thorough review on the significance of student voice initiatives to help combat chronic absenteeism and high school dropout rates of vulnerable students, participants will create their own individualized “roadmap” of their selected student voice project. During the workshop, they will utilize the “KCSOS Student Voice Toolkit” to breakdown their student voice project in the following areas: (1) project background, (2) scope of project & goals, (3) resources needed, (4) student involvement, (5) monitoring & evaluation plan, and (6) developing the formal action plan. The participants will be able to take this entire plan back to their school sites and will have a firm grounding for initiating their first student voice project.

Evidence

Reference 1:

Mitra, D. L., & Gross, S. J. (2009). Increasing student voice in high school reform: Building partnerships, improving outcomes. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 37(4), 522-543.

Mitra & Gross’ 2009 research study on building student voice initiatives in schools in order to build partnerships and improve outcomes showcases the “student voice pyramid.” The student voice pyramid shows how critical it is for students to feel heard (i.e. school personnel acknowledging youth have unique and important perspectives), for students to collaborate with adults (i.e. positive youth-adult partnerships), and for students’ leadership capacities to be built (i.e. youth and adults partner & youth are given opportunities for civic development). If this model of student voice initiatives are implemented by way of the pyramid structure, then schools will become more equitable. Mitra & Gross also state, “Systemically sharing leadership with youth opens up opportunities to re-engage disenfranchised youth.”

Reference 2:

Fernandez, Maria-Paz, Sy Doan, and Elizabeth D. Steiner, Use, Capture, and Value of Student Voice in Schools: Findings from the 2021 Learn Together Surveys. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 2021. https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA827-4.html.

RAND Corporation did a research study in 2021 regarding student voice implementation in schools following the COVID-19 pandemic school shutdowns. The study showed that half of teachers & administrators have reported placing less emphasis on integrating any student voice initiatives during the pandemic, even if they had done so prior. Educators also reported that opportunities for capturing student voice during virtual learning was highly diminished, showing the importance of placing emphasis on student voice post-pandemic shutdowns.

Reference 3:

Quaglia Institute: quagliainstitute.org/dmsView/School_Voice_Report_2016

The Quaglia Institute’s 2016 School Voice Report showcases the importance of student voice initiatives when engaging students of all ages. The Quaglia Institute’s research shows that student voice increases academic motivation, and students who believe they have a voice in school are 7x more likely to be academically motivated.

Learning Objective 1

articulate the significance of student voice & how it creates positive outcomes for students

Learning Objective 2

plan & implement a student voice project on their school sites/ districts

Learning Objective 3

understand how student voice initiatives are trauma-informed & beneficial

Keyword Descriptors

students; voice; student voice; trauma-informed; homeless; foster; engagement; schools; education

Presentation Year

2024

Start Date

3-5-2024 11:30 AM

Link to Full Text

Share

COinS
 
Mar 5th, 11:30 AM

Using Student Voice to Build Trauma-Informed Schools

Session Six

Student voice is the practice of being intentional about receiving feedback from students in order to make systemic changes at schools and districts. Student voice initiatives engage vulnerable student subpopulations, such as homeless students, with their schools, which can lead to lower rates of chronic absenteeism and high school dropouts. Come learn how to implement these practices to improve your school climate and attendance rates!