This BELE learning brief highlights how near-peer mentors and Youth Organizing Coaches can help school districts listen to and respond to the experiences of students. The brief explores four key insights on how the role can be implemented in schools to uplift student voices and support education leaders to partner more meaningfully with students.

Students take ownership of their learning and are more actively engaged in their schoolwork when they have choices, share their ideas, and feel heard—when they experience student voice. Created to support Cultivate and Elevate users or any educators interested in improving learning conditions, this guide introduces research, principles, practices, and measures related to student voice.

On this episode, we hear from students – two students who are youth advocates for the National Equity Project. What do they say young people need to be successful? How do they view the education system – who do they think it is designed for, and what critical pieces do they see as missing?

Students and student voices must lead our work in building equitable and liberatory schools. The Youth Liberation Symposium, an entirely youth-led virtual symposium featuring youth from across our network of 18 school districts connected to learn about the history of education liberation struggles and dive into questions around their own activist identity. The symposium culminated…