Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence

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Students as Partners: Integrating Student Voice in Kentucky Schools

Students as Partners is a report detailing the widespread lack of student inclusion on Kentucky school governance bodies and making the case for change.
Teens from the Prichard Committee Student Voice Team spent time surveying peers, teachers, principals, and superintendents in an effort to determine exactly how Kentucky schools leverage student voice as a tool for school improvement.
Results from the nearly 300 Kentucky schools and school districts that responded show that 8% of school councils and 9% of school districts support students to serve on their governing bodies and that 57% of schools do not offer a meaningful outlet for student voice.
After analyzing its data, the Student Voice Team recommended that schools, teachers, administrators, and students seek to develop a culture of mutual respect, support students to serve on school governance bodies, provide students with more meaningful outlets to affect their own learning environment, and empower students to gather feedback from their peers to drive school improvement.