A New Day for the Student Movement
When Student Voice began, I knew what it could become, I just never imagined the incredible journey I would go on for us to get there.
As U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan once noted, “Students know what is working and not working in schools before anyone else.” Our schools are increasingly looking different than the system’s leaders. When decision makers do not mirror the diversity of age, race, gender, and sexuality of the students whom their decisions impact, this movement is about more than voice — it is about equity. For us to best serve students, we must engage them as partners in shaping our schools and communities.
In that vein, to generate support and awareness, we leveraged the large education community on Twitter through the #StuVoice hashtag, eventually reaching over 5 million people from 50 states and across the world. Two years later, we designed a Student Bill of Rights that is now helping thousands of students across the country hold education accountable to them.
Building on this digital success, we hosted events supported by Fortune 500 companies like Dell and Microsoft, preeminent philanthropies like the Hewlett Foundation, government officials like Arne Duncan, and students everywhere from Ferguson, Missouri to Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
After directly engaging over 10,000 students through these events and digital dialogues, we recognized the best place to hear from students would be in their own schools and communities — so we went on tour. Eight months in, we have visited students from the Appalachian region of the United States to the Zaatari Refugee Camp in Jordan, capturing all of their stories along the way through roundtable discussions and one-on-one conversations. We have met students thriving in Charlottesville, Virginia using virtual reality and makerspaces to expand their learning opportunities. We have, conversely, met students struggling in North, South Carolina because of funding inequities that prevent them from having enough teachers to teach the classes necessary for graduation.
To address these challenges, we have supported student action, from as small as school-based Student Voice clubs that have changed school policies, to as big as national organizations such as Think of Us, which is helping foster youth transition to adulthood.
Through our work, student voices have reached the highest of institutional levels. Students have been able to engage leaders from President Barack Obama to Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. They have had opportunities to influence federal decision making through roles at the U.S. Department of Education and the White House. Their stories were featured in publications like the The New York Times and The Washington Post, and on national television stations like MSNBC.
Some of the most important work has taken place out of schools and in the streets. Students have walked out of school in Boston, Detroit, and Philadelphia to fight their cities’ funding crises, despite being threatened with possible suspension. In Howard County, Maryland, students walked out of school to stand in solidarity with the racial justice movement after a classmate spoke out in opposition to Black Lives Matter.
Most importantly, students are seeing results from their activism. Partner organizations have achieved significant advancements for equity in education, including the Prichard Committee Student Voice Team restoring $14 million in financial aid to low income students in Kentucky, the Houston Student Congress filing an amicus brief challenging the Supreme Court of Texas to ensure equitable funding for public schools, and community activists achieving local voting rights for 16 and 17-year-olds in Takoma Park and Hyattsville, Maryland.
Four years and over $1 million in sponsorship and support later, the small group of high school and college student volunteers that met via social media has become a national nonprofit organization with 10 employees and dozens of volunteers.
In May I graduated from the University of Maryland, College Park. So in the spirit of preserving the authenticity of our “for students, by students” work, last week marked my last as Executive Director of Student Voice.
Nonetheless, I will forever be a colleague and a comrade in this movement. No matter my age or professional status, I will always recognize student voices as imperative in shaping our schools and our country. It has become evident to me that student experiences in schools are representative of our communities; therefore, I have come to believe that no informed decision is made about students without students.
I leave my current position with pride for all that we have accomplished and confidence in Student Voice’s future.
From the streets to the White House, the movement is live. #StuVoice
