If you’re wondering how to get students to listen and engage in social and emotional learning (SEL), it might be time to flip the question. Instead, ask, “How can we listen to students to create spaces where students lead and collaborate on solutions that support everyone’s SEL?”
Empowering, elevating, and listening to student voice is a powerful way to put SEL into action. Creating space for student voice and supporting their leadership helps students practice self- and social awareness, learn to work together in groups to solve problems, practice self-advocacy, and cultivate a sense of agency.
At the same time, listening to student voice empowers educators. Students offer a unique perspective on how high-level decisions impact the day-to-day life of the school, and their voices are critical to quality schoolwide SEL implementation and fostering equitable learning environments. By listening to students, schools can make informed decisions about the changes that will best support all learners.
The stories below, from CASEL’s Guide to Schoolwide SEL, capture some of the ways schools are implementing strategies to elevate student voice and perspectives as part of schoolwide SEL.
Students Join Adults in Leadership
Fenton High School, Bensenville, Ill.
Giving stakeholders a voice at the table is an important part of the history of Fenton High School, a large high school located on the west side of Chicago. At Fenton, at least one student is assigned to every staff committee including SEL, Wellness, Discipline, and Restorative Justice.
Presence on staff committees has led to unique SEL opportunities for students, such as developing leadership and teamwork skills. They have assisted in creating a Fenton “mood meter,” developed training videos, and supported teachers in delivering lessons for the school’s SEL program. In the process, students learned essential leadership skills related to data analysis, action planning, marketing, and communication.
The role of students on committees goes far beyond sharing their opinions in meetings. Students are actively involved in the administration, data analysis, and presentation of results for their annual school climate student survey. They have also helped to develop a schoolwide SEL mission statement and create promotional materials for an attendance campaign.
The commitment around elevating the voice of students at Fenton, particularly when it comes to SEL, continues to grow. Melissa To, the school counselor, says, “It was fascinating for our staff to see the data and hear directly from students about how they feel about our school. They now see how important it is to have a student perspective and to promote schoolwide SEL.”
Student-Led Leadership
Johnson Senior High School, St. Paul Public Schools, Minnesota
“Adults should not do for students what students can do for themselves.” That’s a fundamental belief at Johnson Senior High School in St. Paul, Minn., where student voice has been a catalyst for schoolwide transformation, driving implementation of SEL and school climate improvements.
At Johnson, every student has an opportunity to be a leader within the school’s multi-layered “Govie Leadership” structure. Through this structure, Johnson’s principal, Micheal Thompson, has offered students various leadership roles, including running weekly schoolwide forums about social issues, participating in a student group that advises the principal on school policies, working with school social workers to support peers, and training staff in restorative practices.
Following a key youth recommendation to allow more time in the schedule for student leadership, a student-led advisory model is now the backbone of the SEL structure within the school. Advisory at Johnson is a daily 15-minute block during which students facilitate an SEL curriculum they created for a mixed-grade group of 20 students, using a community-building circle format.
Johnson’s student leadership exemplifies the deep connections between SEL and student voice: SEL provides opportunities for all students to develop and practice the skills they need to become leaders, decision-makers, and problem-solvers. It can also help adults and students come together to create a learning environment that elevates all voices and strengthens the community.
Students as Decision-Makers
Washoe County (Nevada) School District
Washoe County School District involves students in informing and making important decisions, including budget proposals. They hold a Strength in Voices Symposium that brings together elementary, middle, and high school students to discuss priorities and challenges within the district. For example, students analyze results from climate surveys and make recommendations for change. Sessions are led by students, while adults capture the input.
Rather than “defaulting to students perceived to fit certain criteria,” Washoe works to ensure a representative sample of students by providing each school with 15 randomly-selected students, from which eight are selected to participate, according to Michelle Hammond, Student Voice Coordinator. “All kids have a voice and they deserve to express it” (CASEL, 2018).
To learn more about the importance of student voice and strategies for supporting student agency in the classroom and school, visit CASEL’s Guide to Schoolwide SEL.