The Power of Student Voice: Harnessing It to Improve School Culture
Truly listening to students and valuing what they have to say have become increasingly important parts of successfully leading a school. To learn how school leaders prioritize student voice, Principal Leadership contacted Brian Fleischman, the principal of Overton Public School in Overton, NE, and the 2022 Nebraska Principal of the Year; Andrew McMillan, the principal of Chapman High School in Inman, SC, and the 2022 South Carolina Principal of the Year; and Stephanie Silman, the principal of Sahuarita Middle School in Sahuarita, AZ, and the 2022 Arizona Principal of the Year.
Principal Leadership: What does the inclusion of student voice look like in your school?
Silman: The students at our middle school hold events throughout the year such as pep rallies, socials, and fundraising competitions to support local charities. Our student council, our National Junior Honor Society chapter, and other student groups help build a sense of belonging and pride on our campus and in our community. I think for middle school students, they want to plan activities that are fun and engaging and meaningful to their age group. Through their involvement in these activities, students build trust and positive relationships and a bond with the school. And I think that in middle school, there’s really a focus on how do we raise school spirit, how do we make schools places where students want to be and want to come?
McMillan: I would say the same thing as Stephanie, just with probably a little more connection to some postsecondary things, such as opportunities to transition into the workforce. As far as clubs, if there’s a faculty sponsor who can work with them, we will offer that club. For example, we started a club three years ago: Friends Against Racism. It came out of some of the social justice things that people were experiencing around the country. This was started by two students. They had several faculty members willing to give them a meeting space and time. Since then, we’ve seen more cultural awareness in our building. We’re in a rural, predominantly white area, but we’re experiencing a lot of change in Hispanic growth and Ukrainian growth, particularly refugees who are coming to our area. So, even though we did this three years ago, it’s really paying dividends now. And that was simply a student choice.
Fleischman: We’re just a little rural school in the middle of Nebraska. We have 280 students right now in preschool through 12th grade. There are 75 students in our high school. When it comes to student voice, I feel like, as a smaller school, I have such an advantage because I know every kid’s name. I seek input from them a lot, whether it’s about the school calendar or the student handbook. Cellphone use is a prime example. Like most schools, we had a policy where they couldn’t be on during the school day. Well, five years ago, through talking with the kids, we came to an agreement that cellphones could be out during appropriate times. Because students do need to learn how to properly use them and when to use them. So, now they’re allowed to use them toward the end of a class period, as long as they’re done with their work and they have their teacher’s permission. There’s flexibility, and the kids really appreciate that.
Principal Leadership: Has student voice changed any specific aspect of your leadership?
Fleischman: I don’t know if it’s changed my leadership style, because even as a teacher, I always wanted to know what the kids thought. If I was teaching a lesson in math, I would ask, “Hey guys, how did that go? What are some things I could have explained differently?” I’ve brought that into the principalship for the last 15 years. I would say the biggest change I’ve seen with me is including students on more items and engaging them in a conversation as opposed to just telling them they have to do something, and that’s that.
Silman: I think that I own how culture is established on campus, but I also share that ownership with our students more now than when I was a novice principal. Our students know what to do to connect with their peers. They have more autonomy to plan events that will strengthen our school spirit, our school culture. So, through the guidance of their adult sponsors on campus and through their work with the administration, they seek more ownership because I distribute that leadership to them.
McMillan: As principals, we’re connected with these kids. We celebrate when they celebrate, and we hurt when they hurt. I think that with student voice, it just keeps my administrative team and me plugged into what their needs are because there’s an open line of communication and some trust there. Students feel that we listen to them in a very genuine manner, and that really allows us to be successful.
Principal Leadership: What are some recent challenges your school has faced in prioritizing student voice in the wake of the pandemic and protests for social justice?
Silman: Our greatest challenge in prioritizing student voice in the wake of the pandemic has been the remote/hybrid teaching and learning formats that we were in. Students on campus build relationships with each other, and when they’re not on campus together, it’s hard to build those bonds. When students came back to campus in person daily, as a staff we saw a need to overtly help them connect with each other and connect with staff and start to see themselves again as part of a larger community. Making these connections is coming back to them slowly. Some of our sixth graders need the most help starting to feel like a part of our community because they’re new to the campus, and they did have a lot of disrupted learning in elementary school. We’re always trying to find ways for students to feel more connected, like Andrew said. If there’s a staff sponsor who wants to host a club that students are interested in, then we’ll start that club. And they can meet at lunch or before school or after school. It might consist of a few students to start with, but as students become more aware of it, they join, and it just gives students more opportunities to connect with their peers and to feel like they’re a part of our school.
McMillan: I think they’re getting their voice back, and they have a lot of things to say. We’re trying to help them navigate life after high school, whether that be a two- or four-year college, employment, or the military. So, we’re focusing a lot on soft skills that just weren’t really cultivated during COVID—résumé building, appropriate dress, eye contact, handshaking—things that kind of [fell by the wayside] because of virtual meetings. There is some retraining. And I think we are in that process for the next several years to come. But they are getting their voice back. We are just helping them to use it and use it appropriately, to speak to one another and to adults in ways that they can get a point across but not come off as disrespectful.
Fleischman: The pandemic is what really affected us with the kids. Some of it was because we are in a small, rural school. Students often asked, “Why do we have to wear masks? Why do we have to limit attendance at sporting events? Why can’t we sit with people we want to sit with at lunch? Why are we limited to sitting with our grade level?” So, I just had many conversations with them. I would say, “This is why we’re doing this. Do I want to wear a mask? Not really, but the health department is saying these are things we need to do so we can be in session.” This was for the 2020–21 school year. Having those conversations to say this is where we’re at and this is what we’re going to do moving forward and we’re going to do it together actually encouraged more student voice than ever. Usually, when I talk to students about the calendar or the class schedule or the handbook, some have strong opinions. Others are like, “Whatever, it doesn’t matter to me.” When it came to the pandemic, everybody had an opinion.
Principal Leadership: How has the importance of student voice changed since you first started your career? Is there a greater emphasis on it now?
Fleischman: Their opinion was asked before, but I don’t believe it was truly listened to. I’ve seen that change really within the last five years but especially within the last two. We have tried to change things within our school, especially with our class schedule; we’re going through a big revision of it right now. We’re trying to help some of our kids with what we’re offering by making courses more relevant for what they want to do in the future (for example, offering a class on anatomy instead of physics for those who want to pursue careers in physical therapy).
Silman: This is my 23rd year in education. Student voice has become essential in school leadership. I think that maybe 10 or 20 years ago, it might have been seen as a high school-specific concept that was relegated to older students. But I think, at every grade level, it’s a key piece of what makes school a place where students want to be, where they feel connected, where they belong, where they feel cared for, and where they fit in.
McMillan: I started teaching in August 2001. I think that 20 years ago, student voice was not considered. It was like, “You guys are going to do what you’re told to do, no questions asked.” Over time, schools began asking more often what do the students think? What are their concerns? It really is, like Stephanie said, essential today because the kids will tell you how they are best served, how they learn, what needs they have. Because they’re receptive to that, it makes our jobs easier.
Principal Leadership: What would you say are students’ greatest concerns about their education and social and emotional development right now?
Fleischman: When it comes to their education, they want their academics to be relevant. For instance, they may not be going into a history field whatsoever, but having an appreciation of what our country has gone through to get us to this point, where we are, making that relevant to what we are doing right now is so important. That’s something I really try to get across to my teachers. When it comes to social and emotional development, the biggest thing I tell kids all the time is that everyone in our building should have an adult they can turn to. It doesn’t matter to me which adult it is. It can be me; it can be the counselor, superintendent, teachers. If they feel comfortable talking to the custodian, that’s fine too. Our head cook is an awesome listener. She has multiple students who feel comfortable going to talk to her. Finding someone to talk to is a life skill for students. I tell them, “I’m no different. I have people I turn to. This isn’t just because you are students that I want you to do this; I do this.” There are principals I turn to when I’m having a rough day because they are the only ones who understand sometimes what you’re truly going through.
McMillan: Like Brian said, our goal is to have one adult advocate for every student on campus, whether that be through a homeroom advisory program or our flexible learning time. We’ve beefed up our interventionist and counselor help. We now have a full-time counselor on campus who’s contracted through a third party, so our guidance counselors are no longer having to counsel some of those students who need more help. To have that in-house has been really helpful.
Silman: Academically, the students are concerned about the learning gaps that they’ve experienced since the pandemic. From a social and emotional standpoint, I think they have an increased level of anxiety that they’re cognizant of. And we are helping build their academic endurance and their resilience to help overcome those challenges. We have a social-emotional lesson that’s taught in all classrooms in our district on Mondays. It’s middle school appropriate. We also make sure that we have our district social workers, our school counselor, and other staff who are trusted adults available when students need help, whether for tutoring outside of school or with navigating a stressor in life.
Principal Leadership: What’s the most important thing students have taught you as a school leader?
Fleischman: That everybody’s voice needs to be heard. My first year as principal, when I talked with kids to get their input, it was more like I was checking a box. Nowadays when I ask for their input, I truly am asking for their input. When they tell me, “You don’t really want to know,” I say, “Well, I wouldn’t have asked you if I didn’t want to know. I’ve got a ton of other stuff I could be doing. I’m asking you a question because I need to know.” I feel that’s one of the biggest changes for me—not dismissing those interactions with those kids. Engaging with them in this way shows them that I care about what they have to say and that their voice is important.
Silman: Students want and are able to help lead if given the opportunity with support and guidance from adults on campus. They have a voice, and it matters. And our school is richer as a result. For example, we’ve involved students on some interview panels. We recently held one for a new assistant principal, and the student council president was the student selected to join the interview. These students are mature. They are articulate. They have clear ideas. They have a level of input in the hiring that I think they never anticipated. They take it very seriously, and they sit at the table with everyone else on that panel.
McMillan: Sadly, in January we had a young lady who was a senior pass away in a car wreck. Our school community is continuing to deal with this loss. Our kids are very resilient, and what they’ve shown me over the last few months is how connected they are to each other, how much they love one another. So, I think that teenagers get a bad rap, and I think that when you can harness the power of them being involved, it strengthens your school culture. Students are trying to navigate adult things in their young minds. I have tremendous hope for our future just from watching how our students have handled this tragedy.