Uplifting student leaders as change agents

In my first year as an Associate Principal several years ago, we had a school policy around hats and hoods. Students had a lot of valid questions around this policy and how it impacted their day-to-day experience. A group of students approached our building leadership, drafted up their questions and reasoning to change the policy, including how the changes would contribute to students’ capacity to learn, and even came to speak at our school board. They made such a compelling case that led to us actually changing the policy. We realized that as a staff it allowed our students to feel seen and comfortable in our building. But even more importantly, these students’ initiative gave us the opportunity to reflect on the role of student voice in our decision making, and open up more avenues for student leadership.

When I started in my role as Principal, we had an established student council and offered leadership opportunities through this avenue. Students could really bring their ideas for activities and special occasions and collaborate with one another to bring those to life. But that’s only one part of the students’ experience. There are so many more areas where their input can make a positive difference for their peers and support the work we do as building leaders. Having student voices in the decision making process improves how connected our efforts are to their everyday experience – and how effective our efforts are for their well-being and their success. 

That’s why we developed the Change Agents program for our middle schoolers, and I’ve been able to recreate this program in my current building. Here’s how: 

Students WANT to make an impact

The focus of the Change Agents is to impact change and influence outcomes in our school community. As leaders, we know what it’s like to have a strong vision for the building and communities we’re a part of. Students have a vision for their school experience, for the well-being and success of their peers and for what they want to build for the kids who come after them. In my experience, our work becomes more effective, and rooted in our kids’ realities, when we acknowledge that vision and provide the space and training for students to put their vision into action. 

Define leadership together

As part of training and onboarding, students who are interested in being a Change Agent talk about what it means to lead. We discuss different examples of leaders in the community and the ways leadership can look different than they might expect. But a key focus in our discussion is making space for students to understand what leadership means to them, and how being a Change Agent can help them lean into their strengths, their values and the kinds of leaders they want to be. Students also help us with our messaging around school expectations and positive behavior. Change Agents have helped us in this messaging by creating videos or shorts to add in our Advisory announcements. This gives them the opportunity to lead publicly in front of their peers.

Empower student leaders with data

Students are the experts of their lived experience – and they deserve access to the tools and perspectives they need to make broader decisions that impact themselves and their peers. What’s more, as adults we want to build – and expand –  a shared perspective with student leaders in service of reaching our goals. That’s why it’s crucial for Change Agents to be data-informed. As part of their training and onboarding, we review school-wide behavioral data with these student leaders. 

We make sure to have an open-ended discussion and support students in understanding the data and coming up with their own interpretations. By providing access to the information without presenting our interpretations right away, we’re able to benefit from students’ fresh insights and lay the groundwork for fruitful collaboration and shared vision.

Center student relationships

Ultimately, we wanted students to be able to shape our school culture, build buy-in among their peers and redirect their own behaviors based on shared values. To accomplish this goal, we trained our Change Agents in restorative practices and supported them in becoming circle leaders. Say two of our sixth graders have a disagreement and need some support to work through it. Our Change Agents in the upper grades – equipped with data-informed perspectives and restorative practices training – could facilitate a circle with those students. So in addition to empowering students with the skills to support one another, we create structures of trust, agency and accountability that complements our efforts as adults. 

Create authentic opportunities for student impact 

When we communicate expectations to students – no matter how strongly we hold their best interests at the core – our words, our policies and our plans don’t always land the way we want them to land. Building in more avenues for student leadership and input at the earliest stages of our decision making process sets all of us up for greater success. Recently, we created a student engagement rubric and brought it to our Change Agents for feedback. As it turns out, we had designed the rubric in such a way that made it more difficult for students to process the information. Without our Change Agents’ input at that point in its design, we could have implemented something that actually frustrated our goals. The more we open genuine opportunities for our Change Agents to shape decisions, the more insightful and effective our efforts become.

Let students build a legacy

When we started the Change Agents program, our leadership team identified students who were already highly engaged and likely to seize the opportunity. But, we want the program to be truly student-led as it continues to grow. So, at the middle school level, we invite our eighth graders who are about to exit the program to identify sixth or seventh graders who might take up the role when they leave. That way, students can be the main contributors in sharing the value of the program, building genuine interest and inviting their peers to actively participate in creating a shared vision for their school. 

Witnessing the growth of the Change Agents program has truly underlined the importance of authenticity in developing student leaders. This could not be done without the support of our Associate Principals and Dean of Students. Extending real invitations for making an impact, at key moments in our decision making process, communicates to kids that we value their insights and their full participation in shaping our school’s experience. Having student leaders walk alongside us as we all move toward our goals continues to make a powerful difference. I’m looking forward to what else we can achieve together.