Students’ ideas, experiences, and identities are centered in decisions that shape what and how they learn.
Elements of Elevated Student Voice
These elements serve as guiding principles or visions of what “perfect” or “ideal” outcomes might look like.
Education Week series, ten Black high school students share what they need from educators to improve their school experience, emphasizing the importance of having a voice in shaping policies, addressing racial inequities, and ensuring representation and support.
Student voice is already there. It’s not something we give. It’s something we honor. And we do when we listen.
– Monte Syrie
Crowdsource Workshops on Elevated Student Voice
Upcoming Crowdsource Workshops
Workshop Date:
May 21, 2025
Elevating Student Voice: Empowering Students to Shape Their Learning Journey
This workshop equips educators to transform student feedback collection from a passive exercise to a cornerstone of decision-making. We’ll explore how to gather student input effectively, disaggregate data to identify diverse needs, and use student voice to inform individual and programmatic decisions …
No Crowdsource events on this topic have occurred. We will add some soon!
Toolkit Resources for Elevated Student Voice
Student Surveys: Evaluate and Elevate Your School’s Tiers of Support
In this segment, he shares examples of how focused and meaningful student surveys can help keep MTSS efforts, programs, and vision on-track to ensure ALL students are thriving and successful …
Structures that Elevate Student Voice in Equitable Ways: Empowering Students While They Develop Life Skills
Carmen Gelman, Director of Professional Development at COSA, is all about student voice and equity. She joined Portico for a Crowdsource on December 15, 2022, to share about her experiences leading three high schools across two states …
Principal’s Advisory Council: Develop Structures that Elevate Student Voice in Equitable Ways
During a Crowdsource Webinar on December 15, 2022, Carmen Gelman, Director of Professional Development, Coalition of Oregon School Administrators (COSA), discussed the importance of student voice and how to create equitable structures to maximize its use in decision-making. Carmen shared how she set up structures and student advisory committees that truly represent all student groups, and how she used these structures to make leadership decisions …
Elevating Diverse Student Voices: Empower Student Engagement and Agency
During a Crowdsource Coffee on December 7, 2023, Portico leaders, coaches, and facilitators shared their experiences and discussed new ideas for how we can all begin taking this challenge on for our students. Not only is it best for our students, but making good and well-informed decisions—and doing our jobs correctly— requires listening to all voices. It is often in that disagreement and tension that we ourselves learn and grow …
Conduct Empathy Interviews: Elevate Student Voices, So You Can Understand and Support Them
Empathy Interviews provide an opportunity to really understand a student, or group of students, by diving deeper than the surface-level question, “How are you?” and receiving the typical response, “I’m fine.” These interviews inform intentional classroom and school-level action by elevating student voices and garnering a better understanding of student needs (SEL and well-being), and experiences (engagement). This resource provides step-by-step instructions on how to conduct an empathy interview …
Transform the Student Experience Through Listening: Reflect on How Your Students are Being Heard
This activity is designed to reflect on how you are engaging students to share their experiences, and to garner what they need from school. This is an opportunity to identify groups of students who need increased opportunity to share their thoughts and dreams …
Reflection Prompts for Elevated Student Voice
- How do you create an environment where students enjoy learning because it feels purposeful and valuable to them?
- What groups of students at your school need to be listened to more? Generate 3 ideas about how you as a leader can engage these groups in the next 3 months.
- Write down your thoughts on how you are engaging your students to share their experiences and what they need from school.
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