WHAT IS THE STATE OF STUDENT VOICE IN KENTUCKY? A GROUP OF HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS FINDS OUT

Abstract

What is student voice? Is it giving students a survey at the end of the year? Is it allowing students to serve on school governance bodies? Is it simply a student’s opinion on a particular policy? For the purposes of this article, student voice is defined as student contributions to school decisions or education policy discussions and the serious consideration of this feedback and perspective. In an effort to understand the current state of student voice efforts in Kentucky, a group of students called the Prichard Committee Student Voice Team (SVT) contacted every principal and superintendent in the state to determine whether student voice opportunities were offered to students in their school or district. In examining the survey responses of 89 school districts and 189 schools, we determined that few districts/schools had student voice programs. However, we did discover locations with strong student voice initiatives that could serve as examples for the numerous superintendents and principals who expressed interest in developing more opportunities for their students. This article shares important success stories and argues that students, who spend 35 hours in classrooms every week, are in a position to offer valuable perspectives on whether and how schools are working. Listening to students not only generates important feedback, but also creates a sense of agency and ownership which potentially leads to higher student performance.