PowerUp D: Youth Voice and Choice
How can high schools foster student voice and choice? Why is it so important to engage high school students in decision-making about their school? And, most important of all, how can students play a more active role in their own learning?
In this PowerUp, we’ll explore those questions through excerpts from “The First Class,” a documentary that follows the founding class at Crosstown High, an XQ high school in Memphis, Tennessee. You’ll see examples of authentic student voice and choice and consider the specific adult practices that help foster it. You’ll also reflect on the impact these practices have on students’ learning experience, and the ways in which they prepare young people for life after high school.
A PowerUp is a concise, just-in-time learning module designed to address a specific topic or practical skill, typically lasting between 1-2 hours, and is offered individually or in bundles to support professional educators with immediate, actionable content.
| Designed For | Teachers and educators |
| Topics | Learner-centered education |
| Platform | Bluebird |
| Source | XQ |
Learning outcomes
- Develop understanding of what authentic youth voice and choice look like and sound like, and what the adult practices are that help cultivate it.
- Observe and unpack examples of students having agency to drive their own learning and contribute to discussions about the school’s culture and direction as a whole.
- Consider strategies that schools and educators can leverage to support both the quality of student engagement and learning, and student autonomy as learners and members of a community.
