A key piece of our Condition of Education in the Commonwealth report, the Action Guide provides research-informed recommendations for statewide actions—policies, investments, and expansion of best practices—that have potential to address performance gaps and contribute to broad improvement in student outcomes. In our recent Condition of Education Action Guides, we've called on the Commonwealth to consider education more holistically, noting that each child’s education encompasses more than academic learning.

 

 

A Time for Change

This year’s report comes at an auspicious moment, as young people react to the current social and political environment with increasing public activism. Evidence indicates that today’s youth are part of an unusually energized, politically engaged generation. Especially in the aftermath of the devastating school shooting in Parkland, student leaders have channeled their outrage and disillusionment into action. 

Source: The Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement

 

Young people today have more ways to share their voice than ever before. Social media offers a potent tool for broadcasting messages and organizing collective action, culminating in mass movements. Yet when it comes to their education, students often have limited opportunities to share their opinions and experiences, even though students are, in many ways, the most informed when it comes to how the education system is functioning. This year’s Action Guide reexamines the current way of doing business, looking at how we can incorporate student voice into decision-making to help all learners construct a pathway to success in college, careers, and life.

 

Cultivating Student Voice in the Classroom

The classroom is the epicenter for the development and application of student voice. A supportive classroom environment helps students build the skills and confidence to speak up on behalf of their needs and interests in a variety of settings. They can also see their lived experiences acknowledged as critical components of the learning process, strengthening their personal identity and outlook. Elevating student voice at the classroom level means involving young people in conversations that directly impact their learning, while ensuring that they are prepared to grapple with issues and participate in conversations related to the broader education system.
 

What this looks like:

• Applied learning activities
• Development of non-cognitive competencies
• Deconstructing adult-student power dynamics

 

Local Spotlight: Generation Citizen

Generation Citizen is a national organization working with 10 Massachusetts districts to bring action civics to underserved public schools where students often lack chances to participate in project-based or experiential learning opportunities. Through Generation Citizen, students have the opportunity to exercise their voice in a meaningful way, while learning how to tackle a community issue through action steps that involve collaboration, communication, and creativity. Classes collectively determine a topic of focus, then research the issue to understand the context and identify a specific, local policy goal. Students work in small groups to generate and implement an action plan to build support for a proposed policy change. Generation Citizen places a heavy emphasis on building teachers’ capacity to support student voice and youth development.  

 

Elevating Student Voice in Schools

When schools take intentional measures to create a climate where student voice is valued and build pathways for students to exercise voice in school-level decisions and functions, they become ideal settings for students to apply skills that they have developed in the classroom. Students with direct experience of school practices can play a vital role in proposing changes that better address their interests and needs. And when school leaders are looking for information on how a new initiative is progressing, student input is a critical (but often overlooked) source of information.
 

What this looks like:

• Positive, inclusive school climate
• Institutionalized channels for students to exercise voice
• Opportunities for student leadership
   

Local Spotlight: Andover Public Schools and Monomoy Regional School District

Andover Public Schools and Monomoy Regional School District see social-emotional learning (SEL) and student voice as intertwined—and mutually reinforcing—pillars of improvement within schools. Andover schools have intentionally approached the work of SEL and student leadership, including the establishment of inclusive communities that support students’ connections to each other and to school. Monomoy Regional School District has brought students into the process of school improvement through multiple formal leadership roles, including student membership on district-wide steering committees.

 

Amplifying Student Voice in the Community

Community-based organizations offer a supportive setting for students to apply the civic and leadership skills they
develop in the classroom and practice in school. Engagement with local institutions helps orient students to a world beyond the school walls where their voice is still welcomed and valued. It also lays the groundwork for students to be civically engaged, active contributors to democratic society throughout their lives. 

What this looks like:

• Experiential learning
• Cultural competency and responsiveness
• Reciprocal dialogue

Local Spotlight: Socieded Latina & Youth on Board 

Student participants in both Sociedad Latina and Youth on Board have multiple ways to exercise their voice in settings that offer valuable experiential learning opportunities. Sociedad Latina works in partnership with Boston youth and families to create the next generation of Latino leaders. Sociedad Latina’s Youth Community Organizers  participate in decision-making processes that particularly affect themselves, their peers, and Boston’s Latino community. Youth on Board  addresses community-based issues through youth-led activism, including the Boston Student Advisory Council, a citywide body of elected student leaders that acts as the district’s student union.

Policy Recommendations

 

New Ways to Track Progress in Massachusetts: The Future of Our Data Dashboard

The Rennie Center’s Data Dashboard provides an in-depth look at school performance by compiling 25 state-level indicators that illuminate areas of success and areas for continued improvement. The current indicators—such as high-quality early education and chronic absenteeism—provide a starting point to investigate disparities in student experience, as well as the equity and effectiveness of our education system. Over the next year, the Rennie Center will be digging deeper into how we can use data to create a more holistic picture of student experience within the Commonwealth. Our aim is to roll out an updated Data Dashboard in 2020 that allows users to analyze the diverse inputs and outcomes that contribute to inequity in students’ learning experiences.

In the meantime, our current data dashboard allows users to monitor general trends in data over time and disaggregate results based on a range of student characteristics including race and income.