A New Beginning: The Journey to Student Voice at a D.C. High School (Poster 70)

• In Event: AERA Poster Session Seven
  In Poster Session: Youth Teams in Education Research Poster Session

Abstract

Columbia Heights Education Campus is a large public high school in Washington DC. This research project was designed and conducted entirely by CHEC students. Student engagement and motivation at CHEC is at an all-time low after students returned after the pandemic. Students complained that they were not being heard, pushed hard for more empowerment, and had higher expectations that they could affect their own decisions. School leaders saw what they tried in the past to engage students wasn’t working. This year, CHEC adopted “design thinking,” a way of problem-solving where all people who use a system could be heard. Design thinking has several steps, all of which require research, data collection, and analysis: identifying opportunities, designing change, putting change into place, and measuring whether the change made a difference. CHEC students led all aspects of the research. We collected and analyzed primary data, including interviews with parents, teachers, administrators, students, and experts; classroom observations; student shadows; surveys; and focus groups. Our research found three opportunities: increase students’ interest and options for the things they learn, provide healthy and culturally diverse meals for students in a fun and engaging environment, and make CHEC a place where students are heard, cared for, and empowered to make decisions for themselves. Based on our research, we designed an inter-disciplinary class where students would earn credit for traveling and then completing projects based on what they learned. We will study the impact of this class next year. We also worked with the school’s food supplier to make changes that address student needs and also fit within the nutritional requirements and budget. The result is more students eat school lunch in the cafeteria (even those who bring lunch from home) and fewer students wander the hallways. We will keep studying the impact of the changes and improving the food and programming. Finally, we will study whether students are actually empowered to see if the larger design thinking work made a difference.

Authors

• Dara Zeehandelaar Shaw, Urban Institute
  Presenting Author

• Gustavo Rosas Cardoso, Youth Teams in Education Research
  Presenting Author

• Elimane Samb, Youth Teams in Education Research
  Presenting Author

• Ydidiya Nadew, Youth Teams in Education Research
  Presenting Author

• Belstar Nimon‐Toki, Youth Teams in Education Research
  Presenting Author

• Jennifer Aguilar, Youth Teams in Education Research
  Presenting Author