Student Voice Initiative

A movement to give students a voice in their education
The Student Voice Initiative

Who we advocate for
•  High school student leaders across Canada
What we want
•  Greater student voice in education policymaking through:
•  A student trustee or student representative on each school board
•  District councils where students can discuss issues and share solutions
•  Democratically-elected student councils in all middle and high schools
How we'll get there
•  Support from student leaders, administrators, and policymakers at
the school, school board, and provincial levels
•  Policy and legislative approval
Executive Summary

1.  Student engagement is lacking
2.  Students have important input on their own education but are not
given a voice in the boardroom decisions that directly affect them
3.  Decisions made in the boardroom are rarely effectively
communicated with students
4.  There is a lack of outlets through which students can have their
voices heard
5.  Issues regarding youth are often discussed without youth’s input
themselves
What are the issues?

6.  Civic engagement and voter turnout rates among youth are at an all-time
low
7.  Youth are not empowered in a way that encourages them to be civically
active and makes them feel like they can make a difference
8.  Civically active youth who are already involved in their communities do
not have a platform through which they can share ideas and best practices
and are therefore unable to set a precedence for other young people to get
involved
9.  The traditional civics curriculum does not teach students enough about
how government functions through experiential learning opportunities
10. Students face issues (such as work-to-rule and union situations) that they
don’t always have the opportunity to voice their opinion on
What are the issues? (2/2)

1.  Student input can improve education policy decision making and can lead
to youth having a better understanding of how public policies are crafted
2.  Ontario’s student leadership model (which consists of student councils,
student senates, and student trustees) has bettered public education for
the past 13 years
3.  Ontario (since 1998) and New Brunswick (since 2009) are the only two
provinces in Canada that have mandated student representatives in all
school boards
4.  Civic engagement is the heart of a healthy democracy, but fostering a
culture of civic engagement must begin at an early age, and civic
education must be practical and experiential
5.  Students are conscious of their own needs and can improve boardroom
decisions
What do we know?

6.  Student leadership allows youth to develop soft skills such as
decision-making, critical thinking, and public speaking that they
cannot learn from a textbook
7.  Involving students in their own education can improve student
satisfaction
8.  Many young people believe they are leaders, but far fewer actually
show it at school
9.  Celebrating youth who make an impact will encourage more young
people to do the same
10. Student leadership is becoming an increasingly important area of
education research
What do we know? (2/2)

What is the solution?
Give high school students a voice in their education
Locally… through democratically-elected student councils in all high schools

Regionally… through district student councils that bring students together

Provincially… through a student trustee on every school board

•  Student input can help improve
boardroom decisions
•  Student leadership allows for
learning beyond the textbook
•  Civic engagement is the heart of
a healthy democracy
Why is this important?

Students who are elected by their
fellow peers to represent the voices
of the student body on their local
school board.
What is a student trustee?
See Appendix A for full responsibilities and privileges

For nearly twenty years, Student
Trustees in Ontario have:
•  Authored a mental health policy
•  Urged schools to act on cyber bullying
•  Eliminated bottled water in all schools in a
school board
•  Assisted policy makers in developing
classroom curriculum
•  Made the collection of student activity
fees more transparent
•  Produced province-wide student surveys
What is a student trustee?
See Appendix B for more accomplishments

Advisors
David Ager
Lecturer of Sociology, Harvard University
David Ager holds a Ph.D. in Organizational Behavior, a joint degree granted by Harvard
Business School and the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University. He is
also a faculty member in Harvard Business School executive education program, Families in
Business: From Generation to Generation and he teaches in the Harvard Kennedy School of
Government executive education program, Leadership for a Networked World. Dr. Ager also
serves as a faculty member in the Rockefeller Leadership Fellows Program at Dartmouth
College.
SVI is supported by prominent names in the
education policy making, civic activism, and
grassroots engagement sphere.
Gerard Kennedy
Former Member of Parliament and Ontario Minister of Education
Mr. Kennedy served as Member of Parliament from 2008-2011. Prior to federal politics, Mr.
Kennedy served as the Minister of Education for Ontario and as a member of the Planning and
Priorities Board of Cabinet. As Minister, he led a widely acknowledged province-wide
turnaround in the $19 billion, 2 million student publicly-funded education system. He
dramatically improved public confidence, increased reading and math scores and lowered
high school drop-out rates following a decade of conflict, cutbacks and turmoil. Mr. Kennedy
is also credited with innovative advances in labour peace, collaboration within the sector,
teacher training, francophone education, healthy schools, school repairs, and special
education among others.

Advisors
Hon. Jean Augustine
Fairness Commissioner of Ontario
Hon. Jean Augustine was appointed as the first Fairness Commissioner for Ontario in March
2007. After university, she became an elementary school principal with the Metropolitan
Separate School Board in Toronto, and was chair of the Metro Toronto Housing Authority.
Ms. Augustine was the first African-Canadian woman to be elected to the House of
Commons. She was elected in the riding of Etobicoke-Lakeshore in 1993 and sat in
Parliament until 2006. During this time, she served as minister of state for multiculturalism
and the status of women, sat on several standing committees, and was a deputy Speaker.
She also played a major role as parliamentary secretary to the prime minister.
Ron Canuel
President & CEO, Canadian Education Association
Ron Canuel has been President and CEO of the Canadian Education Association since 2010,
and has over 36 years of experience in the public education sector. As the former Director
General of the Eastern Townships School Board in Quebec, Ron was the principal architect of
one of the first Canadian district-wide wireless laptop computer program for students and
teachers, and has received numerous awards in recognition of this ongoing initiative. He has
been a frequent presenter, panelist, and lecturer at national and international conferences on
CEA’s What did you do in school today? and Teaching the Way We Aspire to Teach research
and action initiatives, as well as on change management, innovation in education, leadership,
and technology in the classroom.

Advisors
Aron Solomon
Advisor, MaRS Discovery District and Former CEO THINK Global School
A global strategist, entrepreneur, and advisor who has always refused to accept the status
quo, Aron Solomon has over a quarter century of experience at the intersection of education
and innovation. Having done everything one can do in education, from teaching and
coaching sports to fundraising, student recruitment, setting institutional strategy, and
actually running schools, Aron was awarded a Ford Fellowship in 2003. He was also the
Chief Executive Officer and first employee of THINK Global School, the most innovative high
school in the world, where students study in three international cities each academic year.

Supporters
Laurel Broten
Former Ontario Minister of Education
Laurel Broten was first elected to the Ontario legislature in 2003 and was re-elected in 2007
and 2011. She was appointed Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs in February 2013. Broten is
also the Minister Responsible for Women’s Issues. As Minister of Education, Broten
introduced the Accepting Schools Act, which is helping ensure Ontario students feel
welcome, accepted and connected to their school, making them more likely to succeed
academically. She was also responsible for introducing the Putting Students First Act to
protect the gains made in education, including smaller class sizes, increased test scores, more
students graduating and the continued implementation of full-day kindergarten.
Kathleen Wynne
Premier of Ontario and Former Minister of Education
Kathleen Wynne is Ontario’s 25th Premier. She was first elected to the Ontario legislature in
2003 as the MPP for Don Valley West, and she became the leader of the Ontario Liberal
Party in January, 2013. As Minister of Education, Kathleen led the government’s efforts to
reduce class sizes, implement full-day kindergarten and provide more opportunities for high
school students to reach their full potential. Kathleen has served as a Public School Trustee
in Toronto. She has led citizens’ groups in a number of grassroots community projects, and
has played a major role as an organizer and facilitator. This experience has contributed to
her results-based approach to life, government and community.

Endorsements
Catherine Fife
Former Vice-President, Canadian School Boards’ Association; Former President,
Ontario Public School Boards’ Association; MPP Kitchener-Waterloo for NDP
“I support The Student Voice Initiative because those student voices at the
local table and provincially lend credibility to the debates that we are
having. And they lend credibility because they bring the facts and the real
life experiences of students in our schools. We get feedback from parents;
we get feedback from community partners; ultimately, student voice is the
most important voice we should be listening to.”.
Shaun Chen
Vice Chair, Toronto District School Board
“I support The Student Voice Initiative because I think this is the structure
we have to create, which is to have student trustees at every school board
in Canada. I’ve seen the benefits here at the TDSB where we have had
amazing student leaders come to the table, bring their own initiatives
forward, provide valuable input on board policies and procedures that we
as adults sometimes forget about.”
A number of thought leaders also believe in
the student voice.

1.  Learn all there is to learn about the
Student Trustee position
•  What is it all about?
•  Why is it important?
•  What does having a Student Trustee mean
for my school board?
•  How can I adapt the Student Trustee idea to
my own school board?
Bring the student voice to your board!

2.  Understand your community
•  What are some of the largest youth groups
and who are their main contacts?
•  What are the key media outlets and who are
their main contacts?

3.  Understand your school board
•  What is your school board’s structure?
•  Who are the main decision maker and how
many degrees of separation are there
between you and them?
•  Who is the most supportive of students and
how many degrees of separation are there
•  How does an idea of proposal get
implemented at your school board?

4.  Understand your province
•  Who is your Minister of Education?
•  What is your Ministry of Education’s
structure?
•  Who are the key decision makers and how
many degrees of separation are there
•  Who is the most supportive of students and
how many degrees of separation are there
•  How does an idea or proposal get
implemented at the provincial level?

5.  Start talking to other students
•  Send emails to other students and youth-led
organizations and ask them to endorse your
campaign
•  Ask the students you know to connect you
with other student leaders from other school
boards who might be interested in spreading
the campaign
•  Post on Facebook, Twitter, and other social
networks and invite them to
www.studentvoicei.org to learn more

6.  Connect with an administrator at
your school board
•  Connect with individuals you already know
(i.e. ask your principal to connect with a
school board superintendent)
•  Set up an in-person meeting to share your
cause

7.  Ask an official at your school board
for their support
•  Have the official (superintendent, etc.) to
advise you on some next steps you need to
take to bring your student representative
proposal to your Board of Trustees

8.  Seek your Board of Trustees' formal
approval
•  Seek a formal board motion and recorded
vote at a committee and/or board meeting

9.  Promote your student
representative pilot project publicly
•  Reach out to media contacts and ask for
them to cover the pilot project, whether it is
on the radio, newspaper, blogs, social media,
magazines, or television
•  Reach out to your youth group contacts and
ask them to publicize the pilot project to
other students

10.  Send an email to an administrator at
your Ministry of Education to set up
an in-person meeting
•  Ask for the adoption of the student trustee at
the provincial level so that you can bring the
student voice to students throughout your
province

1.  Recognized as being the representative and voice of the school board’s student body at the school board
2.  A current, full-time student in satisfactory academic standing
3.  Mandated in every school board through the province’s Education Act
4.  Supported by local school board-specific policies and procedures
5.  At a minimum, permitted to attend and speak at all public committee and board meetings (with full in-camera participation
privileges being the preferred option)
6.  At a minimum, permitted to exercise a non-binding recorded vote on all public matters (with full binding vote participation
privileges being the preferred option)
7.  Permitted to submit reports and motions to the board to consider at its committee and board meetings
8.  Given access and privileges that other school board trustees have to board staff, training, and resources
9.  Democratically elected by students across the school board to serve for one academic year
10.  Supported and advised by a democratically elected committee of students representing school districts across the school board
11.  Responsible for directly reporting to the school board committee of students, and, in turn, the student body as a whole
12.  Granted a modest but adequate budget to use towards professional development, program development, and the satisfactory
completion of their normal tasks and responsibilities
13.  Compensated for their time and efforts at the end of their term
14.  Allocated at least one adult advisor at the school board
Appendix A
Student representative responsibilities and privileges

1.  Authored a mental health policy [1]
2.  Urged schools to act on cyber bullying [2]
3.  Eliminated bottled water in all schools in a school board [3]
4. Assisted policy makers in developing classroom curriculum [4]
5.  Made the collection of student activity fees more transparent [5]
Appendix B
Student trustee accomplishments (1/4)
[1] http://www.insidehalton.com/print/817786
[2] http://digitaljournal.com/article/313201
[3] http://www.insidetoronto.com/news/local/article/998205--catholic-schools-to-phase-out-bottled-water
[4] http://www.sunnewsnetwork.ca/sunnews/canada/archives/2011/05/20110518-203544.html
[5] http://www.thestar.com/parentcentral/education/article/889279--toronto-school-board-tightens-rules-on-student-fees

Appendix B
6.  Produced province-wide student surveys [6]
7.  Supported the Haiti earthquake redevelopment effort [7]
8.  Collected socks for the homeless in Toronto [8]
9.  Spoke against frivolous spending by school boards [9]
10.  Influenced standardized religion test development in Catholic
Schools [10]
[6] http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/education/sexual-diversity-belongs-in-classroom-cellphones-dont-student-survey/
article570605/
[7] http://www.communitypress.ca/2010/04/17/students-sell-t-shirts-to-help-haitians
[8] http://www.owensoundsuntimes.com/2011/12/15/students-collect-socks-for-homeless-in-toronto
[9] http://www.owensoundsuntimes.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2268770&archive=true
[10] http://www.insidehalton.com/insidehalton/article/650172

Appendix B
11.  Raised funds for needy families [11]
12.  Influenced school board meeting procedures [12]
13.  Advised the Minister of Education on Civics curriculum
development [13]
14.  Published recommendations on how to revamp the Civics and
Careers curriculum [14]
15.  Sought more student representation in school councils [15]
[11] http://www.brantfordexpositor.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2218707&archive=true
[12] http://www.insidehalton.com/print/829064
[13] http://www.insidehalton.com/community/oakvillebeaver/article/626654
[14] http://www.zuza.com/community-story/47132-education-canadian-flags-to-be-treated-with-respect-again/
[15] http://www.durhamregion.com/DurhamRegion/Article/1119998

Appendix B
[16] http://www.durhamregion.com/print/1114403
[17] http://www.insidehalton.com/insidehalton/article/650172
[18] http://www.northernlife.ca/news/localNews/2009/oct/photo131009.aspx
[19] http://www.thestar.com/parentcentral/education/schools%20and%20resources/article/778191--teacher-s-day-at-
acc-gets-major-downsizing
[20] http://www.thestar.com/parentcentral/education/article/648999--school-board-vending-machine-ban-looms
[21] http://www.zuza.com/community-story/43808-program-aims-to-feed-hungry-students/
[22] http://www.torontosun.com/news/torontoandgta/2009/10/14/11392596-sun.html
16.  Influenced nutritional standards in school cafeterias [16]
17.  Influenced uniform requirement policies in schools [17]
18.  Promoted non-profit organizational fundraisers [18]
19.  Support cost-cutting efforts [19]
20.  Stopped a vending machine ban; fixed all water fountains [20]
21.  Led fundraising efforts for nutritional programs in schools [21]
22.  Advocated for healthier options in school cafeterias [22]

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