Transformative Student Voice in Community Schools: Positioning Students in Shared Leadership

• In Event: Working Toward Adult-Youth Solidarity: Understanding the Possibilities and Challenges in and Out of Schools

Abstract

Purpose:
The community schools model is a growing nationwide reform seeking to transform public schools into “the hub of its neighborhood, uniting families, educators, and community partners as an evidence-based strategy to promote equity and educational excellence” (Coalition for Community Schools). The recent iteration of the model has garnered broader attention as a democratic urban school reform that includes students, families, and staff in shared leadership (Frankl, 2016; McLaughlin et al., 2020). While community schools differ across contexts, the model generally integrates social services and expands learning opportunities, meaningful family/community engagement, and collaborative leadership (Oakes et al., 2017). As community schools gain traction nationally, an important but unexplored area is how the model positions student voice. This paper focuses on how community schools in Milwaukee, Wisconsin attempt to include student voice in shared leadership through youth councils (YCs) and community school leadership teams (CSLTs).

Framework:
This study uses transformative student voice (TSV) as a framework to explore how community schools enact student voice in shared leadership. TSV consists of sustained and systemic opportunities for students to engage in critical inquiries of issues at their schools and participate in actions to address these issues with adult allies (Zion, 2020). Research has shown that when students engage in TSV, they can develop skills for critical reflection, sociopolitical efficacy, and participation in sociopolitical action (Hipolito-Delgado et al., 2022).

Methods & Data Analysis:
This paper draws on qualitative data from a research practice partnership (Coburn & Penuel, 2016) in 6 community schools (2 K-5s, 1 K-8s, 3 HSs) during the 2023-2024 school year. Data includes 21 interviews with YC students, 15 school staff interviews, 80 hours of participant observations in YC/CSLT meetings and events; artifact collection (ex: meeting agendas; student-produced materials). Data analysis included several rounds of inductive and deductive coding for emergent themes (Saldaña, 2015).

Results & Significance:
Shared leadership in the community school model includes a school YC and CSLT with student members, which is a unique leadership structure rarely found in schools. However, each school’s context and power dynamics impacted what shared leadership looked like in practice (Welton et al., 2017). In this paper, I highlight how 3 schools showed promise in moving towards TSV. Common practices at these schools included CSLT meetings during the school day; strong student presence (4+ students) on CSLT; CSLT discussion-based meetings; and YCs engaged in critical inquiry. In CSLT students discussed academic/behavior data, which helped them understand issues like low attendance or high suspensions. Students claimed that CSLT provided them with a unique opportunity to have open dialogue with teachers. YCs equipped students with critical inquiry skills, such as root-cause analysis to explore school issues. Students at these schools had a deeper understanding of school issues and believed they had voice and agency in working with school staff on future school change (Cook-Sather, 2020). While challenges of practice remain in how these schools move from meaningful dialoguing (Bertrand, 2014), to enacting school change, the community school model shows promise in positioning students in shared leadership.

Author

• Julissa Ventura, Marquette University