This article appeared as "Raising Student Voices" in the Fall 2022 issue of Independent School.
Trinity Valley School (TX) creatively tackled two critical inclusion-related issues through a unique professional development program last April led by carefully chosen experts—the students themselves.
Trevon Jones, director of equity, inclusion, and community (EIC), wanted to find a way to heighten student input in the school operations and culture while at the same time address a growing interest in inclusion-focused staff training. His two-pronged solution was called Our Trojans Teach: Student-Led Workshops, a three-hour event in which upper school students had an opportunity to support faculty growth.
“I often found myself saying ‘the students are so far ahead of us,’” Jones says.
So why not let them lead? Working with Michael Roemer, director of global education at Trinity Valley, Jones invited students to submit program proposals, establish a format for the event, and work with six students to fine-tune their programs.
An introductory session focused on the value of student voice in a school, using “Theorizing Student Voice: Values and Perspectives,” an article by Carol Robinson and Carol Taylor, as a point of discussion. Then, 25 faculty and staff members chose two hourlong consecutive student-led sessions on one of three topics: the importance of multiple perspectives in the classroom, LGBTQ people throughout world history, and the findings of student-run research on student attitudes about EIC issues. “One parent told me that their son and his group had met for at least 10 hours with his co-presenters over the two-week period leading up to Trojans Teach. Despite no grade being awarded, teenagers invested enormous effort into the growth of our faculty,” Jones says.
The program got great reviews from students and staff, according to the results of an online survey. “Overwhelmingly, members of the faculty described their experience as educational and enjoyable and commented about the joy of the experience and how proud they were of our presenters,” Jones says. “We’re really excited about the way we are communicating to students the value placed on their experience, knowledge, and perspective.”
Jones also received feedback about how to improve future programs, including establishing norms that accommodate the student voice, holding a debrief session for faculty attendees, and having more frequent check-ins during the planning stages so students could get feedback. “In particular, some thought having students develop implications of their topic for educators could have explicitly bridged the passion of the presenter and the practice of the educator.”
Several participants asked for sessions with more participants, and student presenters since have been invited to present at department meetings and school in-service days. “It is so important to give our upper school students a way to share their voice and their interest in these topics with their teachers,” says Head of School Blair Lowry. “We were delighted that faculty from all three divisions came out to participate in the program and support the students. It was a special opportunity to have students share their own unique perspectives.”
Students led workshops for faculty that explored the importance of perspective in the classroom, LGBTQ people throughout world history, and student attitudes about equity, inclusion, and community issues.
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