Educators and Students Work Together to Amplify Student Voice in Kansas City
Clark Stinson Photography
The Challenge:
How might we leverage student voice to create a culture of Real World Learning In education?
Earlier this year, Startland partnered with the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation to launch Student Voice: a program that groups students and teachers together in teams to create solutions informed by real-world learning for their districts.
On September 23rd, our Education team held an in-person working session at the Kauffman Conference Center where teams got to pitch early versions of their solutions to a student panel.
Final Pitches
“Student-Owned Spaces”
Kansas City Public Schools
Using the analogy that students are “fleas in a jar,” KCPS pitched that creating spaces to express their creativity will set them free.
“Career Exploration Period”
Raymore-Peculiar High School
Emphasizing the importance of empowering students to find their dream job, Ray-Pec students advocated for a class period to explore career pathways.
“Promotional Campaign”
Blue Springs School District
Deciding that in order for students to participate in real-world learning opportunities they have to be excited, BSSD is planning out a promotional campaign to engage their community.
“Accelerate Conference”
Piper High School
With racial tensions at their school diminishing the student voice, PHS developed a leadership conference to empower their Black populations.
“Student-Led Class Audits”
Guadalupe Centers High School
Recognizing that students want more autonomy over their graduation outcomes and course load, GCHS proposed regular class audits to ensure course content remains relevant.
“Student Surveys”
Fort Osage High School
Delineating the importance of teacher-student relationships, Fort-Osage suggested regular student surveys to asses their classrooms and career opportunities.
Student Spotlight: Becky & Avery
Watch as the student team from Raymore-Peculiar High School talk about their experience in Student Voice.
The Next Phase
Make It Real
Educators will be taking the projects they developed over the course of the week, and expanding it further as the year goes on. Utilizing what they’ve learned through design thinking and the help of our resources - they’ll think through barriers, potential partners, and how to reach their project’s optimum potential.
Event Reel
FOMO? Watch a compilation from the Student Voice September meeting over on our Instagram.
“Super pumped to be with some passionate educators and amazing students to work on #studentvoice and #realworldlearning. Some profound things have been said and these kids are putting in some WORK! “
- Andrew Corrao, Educator at Kansas City Public Schools
