Student-led after-school club creation and student senate structures to expand student voice and engagement¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · no claims cited

Description¶

Roswell community schools shifted decision-making to students: at Sierra, all after-school clubs are determined by students, who brainstorm ideas, gather peer interest, recruit a paid teacher host, and seek approval from the coordinator and principal; renaming tutoring as Homework Help removed stigma and improved voluntary attendance. At University High, the elected student senate runs announcements, operates monthly food distributions, created Worry Walls for hygiene products, and planned the school's first prom in over a decade. A staff member said students "feel like they're valued."

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Community schools grant funding to pay teachers' additional contract hours for hosting clubs; a community school coordinator and principal to approve new clubs

Constraints¶

• Described in two specific Roswell schools; the brief does not report tested outcomes for these structures beyond descriptive accounts

Target Learners¶

• Middle school students and alternative high school students

Target Learning Goals¶

• Student voice, engagement, autonomy, collaborative leadership, and school belonging

Affordances¶

• Nm Ped Community School Six Practices Framework

Related Strategies¶

• Integrated school-based health and social safety net supports addressing out-of-school learning barriers
• Teachers sponsor student industrial arts clubs to build leadership, attitudes, and public relations

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Espinoza, D. (2024). New Mexico community school profile: Roswell Independent School District. Learning Policy Institute. https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/product/new-mexico-community-school-roswell-brief