Using the Student Voice Ambassador Program to engage students experiencing homelessness & foster care

Format

Individual Presentation

Format

Workshop

Presenters

• Allyson Baptiste, Kern County Superintendent of SchoolsFollow
• Kim Silva, Kern County Superintendent of SchoolsFollow

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 Coordinator 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.

Second Presenter's Institution

Kern County Superintendent of Schools

Second Presenter’s Email Address

kisilva@kern.org

Second Presenter's Brief Biography

Kim Silva is a Research Associate for the Kern County Superintendent of Schools’ Homeless and Foster Youth Education Program and a Producer of the “Youth Voice Amplified” podcast. Ms. Silva has over 15 years of implementing and evaluating programs aimed at supporting students who have experienced homelessness, foster care, trauma, and adversity. Her combined experiences and publications in community-based research provide a strong basis for her teaching, mentoring, and commitment to bringing a voice to the experience of foster youth and homeless youth.

Submitter

I am submitting this proposal as one of the presenter(s)

Location

Vernon

Strand #1

Home: Family & Community Engagement

Strand #2

Heart: Social & Emotional Skills

Relevance

HOME: The Student Voice Ambassador Program is meant to engage foster, homeless and at-risk students in school, connecting underrepresented student populations to school.

HEART: The Student Voice Ambassador Program empowers students, teaches them leadership skills & gives them shared decision-making authority with adults at school.

Brief Program Description

This session will focus on how the Kern County Student Voice Ambassador Program has been able to engage, empower, and teach leadership skills to middle & high school students experiencing foster care, homelessness or who are at-risk. Additionally, SVAP students have shared decision-making power with adults, creating systemic change in their school districts, making campuses more equitable for all students.

Summary

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.

During the workshop, participants will learn about the Kern County Student Voice Ambassador Program, which is comprised of students in Kern County at 16 different middle & high schools. Student Voice Ambassador Program chapters include up to 10 students who provide feedback to administrators and educators on ways to change school climates to make them more equitable for students who have overcome adversities (such as students experiencing foster care and homelessness).

The workshop will showcase how the Student Voice Ambassador Program Retreat was able to teach 7 different leadership skills to the Student Voice Ambassadors. The workshop will also showcase what materials SVAP Chapter Adult Advisors were provided in order to manage and facilitate their SVAP Chapter meetings.

Participants will walk away with tangible forms, worksheets, and customizable planning materials they can utilize to start youth advisory boards on their campuses to benefit vulnerable students. Participants will also be provided access to the free Kern Student Voice E-Toolkit at kern.org/hip, that includes many student voice training videos & materials.

Additionally, participants will walk away with the knowledge of how the SVAP has used STEM and STEAM to further engage students in the program.

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

Participants will be able to describe how student voice initiatives can engage foster and homeless students in school, leading to positive academic outcomes.

Learning Objective 2

Participants will be able to utilize materials provided to create youth advisory boards on their school sites.

Learning Objective 3

Participants will be able to verbalize how STEAM can be used in tandem with student voice programs.

Keyword Descriptors

student voice; foster; homeless; STEM; STEAM; engagement; decision-making; youth-adult partnerships; middle school; high school; at-risk

Presentation Year

2025

Start Date

3-3-2025 11:30 AM

End Date

3-3-2025 1:00 PM

Recommended Citation

Baptiste, Allyson and Silva, Kim, "Using the Student Voice Ambassador Program to engage students experiencing homelessness & foster care" (2025). National Youth Advocacy & Resilience Conference. 104.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/nyar_savannah/2025/2025/104