With most K–12 students having transitioned back into the classroom after a period of distance learning prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic, educators have an opportunity to consider how to students as both experts of their own experiences and essential partners in their own education—a concept known as student voice.

To better understand strengths-based insights about safe, responsive home environments, the national Center to Improve Social and Emotional Learning and School Safety (CISELSS) at WestEd convened students from Education for Change Public Schools in Oakland, California, for a virtual focus group in fall 2021. Education for Change then conducted informal follow-up interviews with students to learn more about their experiences.

This guide describes how CISELSS conducted its focus group, some of the school climate ideas that emerged, and other ways that educators might center student voice in improving school climate, including:

  • Partnering with students to create safer, more supportive learning environments in the classroom by removing assumptions about what student experiences were like at home
  • Redefining traditional models of teaching and learning to center student voices
  • Inviting candid feedback and input from students about both home and school learning conditions
  • Co-creating an action plan with students for improving school climate