TEACHER TIPS: STUDENT EMPOWERMENT gate a broader society that does not always prioritize the well-being of all its members.
• Our role is to sharpen students’ communication skills, not destroy their legitimate critique in the process, even if their message is critical of our own enforcement of the norm.
Things Get Spicy: Empowering Student Leaders Through Affinity Groups
• By affinity groups being spaces dedicated to social belonging that equip students with the tools to advocate for themselves and their peers, students are empowered to be leaders within their school communities.
• To ensure that students in affinity groups engage with these spaces thoughtfully and purposefully, Breck School asks them each year to create an action plan that goes beyond just meetings and gatherings.
Empowering Student Voice and Choice through Service Learning
• The SF Friends’ service learning program is built on relationships that are authentic. They address real needs in the community and in their curriculum, are reciprocal and mutually beneficial, and they are enduring— maintaining a relationship throughout the year, and year after year.
• Structured agency is not about allowing students to act without boundaries or guidance; rather, it is about providing them with the right balance of choice, responsibility, and support.
From Frustration to Action: Student Agency in Culture Change
• To audit their school on accessibility, students at Carolina Friends School looked at the campus through the lens of a different disability— mobility, hearing, sight, and learning.
• As a result of the audit, the Board of Trustees approved a renovation project that, among other things, finally made the nurse’ s office accessible to wheelchairs.
• The students felt they were helping disabled students and adults who might be a part of the school in the future, and that the audit allowed them to create real and lasting change. •
Spencer Burrows is the Equity and Civic Engagement Coordinator at Pacific Ridge School in Carlsbad, CA. There, he leads the school initiative to expand access to the civics process for all students, through leadership training, civics education, and experiential learning. Spencer is a CSEE VisitingScholar for 24-25.
CSEE Connections Summer 2025 Page 35