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Schools that foster enhanced relationships between adults and students experience improved rates of academic achievement.

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Raise Their Voices!

For the 1,300 students at Iroquois Ridge High School in Oakville, Ontario, Canada, the expectation for meaningful involvement with the school, local, and global communities is nonnegotiable from day one of the 9th grade. Each student, not just the highest achievers or most popular ones, is both encouraged and supported to find his or her voice through numerous student-created and student-led clubs and activities that address local and global issues. At "The Ridge," "student-centered" and "student-led" are not mere clichés; they are the definition of school culture.

It all starts with incoming freshmen through the researched-based transition program Link Crew. This relationship-driven program allows staff and students to work together to define meaningful involvement for each student in a system of intentionally integrated clubs and activities. And this process does not end in 9th grade. Their sophomore year, students are part of homegrown program called "Synergy," which was created with the unique developmental needs of 10th graders (remember, sophomore means "wise fool") and the Ridge culture in mind. In the true style of a student-centered learning environment, Synergy was reduced to a half-year program after students explained that they were equipped with the skills they needed to be successful by the winter. The combination of transition programs ensures that students not only are given opportunities to lead, but also are prepared with the skills necessary to take advantage of those opportunities. As 11th and 12th graders, they are expected to participate in preparing the next group of students for the same process.

But the Ridge's culture is not just about clubs or programs. Students and staff are constantly refining structures that allow students to be meaningfully involved, help teachers to facilitate learning, and keep everyone informed. Ask students which structures allow them to take ownership of their high school experience, and you will likely hear about the single shared lunch hour for students and staff. Students feel passionate about their lunch hour, which provides time to coordinate and plan for the myriad activities and clubs and stay connected across grades and departments. The single shared lunch hour is essentially the exact same thing for students as the common planning time teachers treasure! In fact, students use this time monthly for meetings of the Ridge Council, which includes student representatives from each of the more than 30 clubs. The council ensures that the actions and activities of all the clubs are coordinated and purposeful. It is so effective that it now manages all of the allotted funds from the school's extracurricular activities budget!

» Engage your school and community in a conversation about involving students in their school and community. Download your free copy of the new e-book Engaging the Whole Child: Reflections on Learning, Teaching, and Leadership by Thursday, May 6, and use the study guide to find strategies to engage the students in your community. Tune into the Whole Child Podcast: Changing the Conversation About Education on Thursday, May 6, to hear more from our guests, including Iroquois Ridge student Nupur Dogra, about developing student voice.

5,500 Whole Child Petition Signatures and Growing!

Have you signed the Whole Child Petition to tell your state board of education that it must do more to educate the whole child? Join thousands of other whole child supporters who are asking for policies and practices that ensure each child is healthy, safe, engaged, supported, and challenged.

New York is leading the way with half the signatures it needs, and California and Illinois are not far behind. How is your state doing? Help your state reach its goal by recruiting your family, friends, and colleagues using our convenient online tool.

» Expect More. Get More.

“Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.”

—Speech prepared for President John F. Kennedy to deliver in Dallas the day of his assassination, November 22, 1963

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