In September 2012, the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence formed a Student Voice Team. Today, the SVT is comprised of a team of self-selected middle school through college students working to elevate the voices of Kentucky youth on the classroom impact of education issues and support students as policy partners in improving Kentucky schools. Since then, they’ve launched a variety of advocacy campaigns to build the state’s student voice movement.
SVT regularly seek to share student voice on education issues with an intergenerational audience. To date this has included such initiatives as:
- Public appearances: Speaking at statewide education summits and local rallies and organizing a social media campaign featuring students on the impact of inadequate school funding;
- Legislative advocacy: Testifying before the Joint Legislative Education Committee about how students can contribute to the teacher evaluation feedback loop;
- Superintendent hiring: Drafting and championing legislation to change the law that prevents students from serving on superintendent screening committees;
- Studying college transitions: Leading a year-long investigation into policies that prevent smooth transitions to college;
- Media: Publishing a series of commentaries in local and national news media outlets on a variety of education policy issues;
- Policy education: Facilitating, documenting, and sharing policy-oriented conversations with middle and high school students across Kentucky;
- Presentations: Making presentations at numerous local and national professional development conferences targeting other youth and adult allies who are part of the burgeoning student voice movement.
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