By Rick Reynolds, founder of PACT High School

When I was designing a new, innovative high school in Cleveland, I sought to create something different for kids: a new kind of learning environment that could engage students in a deeper way and inspire them to drive their own educational experience. My team and I constantly iterate on our school model but we’ve known, from day one, that a strong foundation of positive youth development (PYD) is essential. Upon this foundation, we’ve built a set of activities to involve student voice in our iteration practices. And how do we do this specifically? We simply ask them what they think!

Since opening PACT High School in 2014, I have carved out space for students to have a strong voice in the school. I’m dedicated to adjusting our school model as I mentioned in this StorySLAM session at the iNACOL Symposium this fall. In addition to surveys, one-on-one conversations, and small groups, I’ve developed a regular process to collect feedback through schoolwide meetings. Using a Likert Scale where each corner of a room denotes each category—strongly agree, agree, disagree, strongly disagree—I ask a students series of questions. Then, students walk to the area that best fits their response. Often this leads to conversations about how our school can improve. Thanks to the level of trust between students and adults, we know we’re going to get the truth about what’s going on in the school.

Here are some things that I would recommend to fellow practitioners who want to do something similar:

Incorporate student feedback. As a leader, you need to take action on the feedback you get from students. The reason these sessions have worked at PACT is because my students know I take them seriously, acting on their feedback to make real changes in the school where possible. Like when students told me that they were spending too much time on computers and wanted more time with teachers. We worked out a balance between the two and elevated our problem-based learning approach. If we didn’t have this level of trust, and if I didn’t demonstrate respect for students by really hearing them, these sessions would be an empty, frustrating waste of time.

Implement strong facilitation. When I first started doing this, it was a mess. Students would often just follow their friends to the corner that was most popular, instead of thinking critically about their answer to my questions. To address this, I acted as a focused facilitator, acknowledging students brave enough to go against the mob mentality and encouraging others to do the same. I’d also remind students that when they walk across the stage at graduation, they won’t all walk together; they must individually be the drivers of their own education. 

Have a plan. Do not go into this unprepared. Have all the questions written, and a few extras in case students want to shift the course of the conversation. I have a set of questions that I’ve crafted over years doing this work. If you’re just getting started, Springpoint’s new paper on PYD has sets of questions for students that can help leaders determine the presence of PYD in their school. I’d also recommend that these sessions have a purpose and that sessions culminate with the facilitator making a clear point.

Start small, then expand. I started these exercises with small groups of students in our cafeteria. My administrative team and I worked out the kinks and evolved our practice, which now includes the whole school. For logistical reasons, we poll with a show of hands instead of walking around but we still get a strong sense of students’ views, which helps guide our school model iteration work.

Let students move and talk. To do something like this, especially with a large group, you must be comfortable with loud, chaotic student movement. Discussion is a good thing. Ensure that the facilitator is flexible but keeps a strong focus on the task at hand. He or she must have cues that let students know, “ok, we’re ready to refocus”. It takes very sharp classroom management skills to glean valuable insights from this activity. 

Follow through, then follow up. We’ve changed a lot of things for our students based on their feedback. Last year students told us they spent too much time with online learning. We shifted the balance. Earlier this year, some students weren’t seeing enough problem-based learning in their classes. We worked with teachers to add more of these elements to their instructional approach. Recently, I didn’t see enough hands when I asked if students were consistently hearing about college. So we’re addressing that too, deepening our college-going culture and adding more field trips to college campuses. I’m also persistent about individual follow up with students. For instance, a key question I ask is: “Do you have at least one adult in this school that you feel like you have a relationship with?” If I see any student who doesn’t agree with that statement, I tell them, “I got you. We’ll fix that.” And I do.

Tell them they effect change. Making changes based on student feedback isn’t enough. You must tell students that the changes are because of their feedback. Connecting the dots for students further deepens their trust of me as a leader, and instills a sense of student ownership over the school and their own success.

What are some interesting ways you have seen schools value student voice? Let us know on Twitter or shoot us a note: info@SpringpointSchools.org