Student-Centered Solutions
At the height of COVID, I advised schools on how to interpret public health guidance (in my hand) and implement it with the student’s needs at the center their plans.
Student-Centered Solutions. I use that term a lot in my work - it’s a guiding principle in my consulting, coaching, and training. It’s the refrain in my conversations with school leaders and my goal in every single K12 project that I work on. I want to dive into the work behind student-centered solutions. What do they look like? How do you create them? How can you include student voice and agency in the process? And most importantly, why do student-centered solutions NEED to be the goal of our K12 schools?
The term itself is pretty straightforward; you want a solution that centers around the student. Great - end of blog (just kidding!) In practice, keeping the student at the center of your decision-making process can be messy. You need to consider the whole student, where they’re coming from, the surrounding community, where you want them to be, and the school environment they need to thrive. When creating a student-centered solution, you need to check yourself at every step to ensure that the decisions will reflect the best interests of the students in your care. Arriving at these solutions takes time, intentionality, and commitment, but I assure you that they are well worth the effort and typically lead to positive, systemic change that lasts.
So, how do we get there? Student-centered solutions need student voices. Our students know what they need to thrive, but we must give them space to speak and be heard! I spoke about this recently with my fantastic colleague Booker Marshall on my vlog. Using student voice and agency when engaging communities and stakeholders working towards a common goal creates a powerful impact. It gives students (and stakeholders)a reason to connect and work towards the betterment of their environment. There are countless ways to include student voice: invite them to share their stories, offer opportunities for input in writing, ask the staff that knows them, and use local and federal data (ex: YRBS, GLSEN). In short - listen. A student-centered solution is not effective or complete until you’ve listened to student voices and used their stories to direct your efforts. A quick note on this, however, be intentional with how and when you include students. Use small groups or one-on-one conversations, ensure they feel safe expressing their thoughts and offer guided questions to help start the conversation. You’d be surprised at the solutions and ideas I’ve heard from students - when given the opportunity, they’re ready to shine and share their knowledge.
Student-centered solutions are not always easy. The time and energy commitment can be daunting, but whenever I start to feel overwhelmed, I return to the WHY. Why student-centered solutions? They are the reason why educators, health professionals working in K12, and consultants like me strive for improvement every day. They allow our students a voice, power, and a place to belong at school. They allow our students to thrive, thrive … to learn.