ECIS Studio: Learning When Students Lead IS Helsinki Students, Faculty, and PTO Share Powerful Insights about Student Agency
17 November 2022 14:30 (London)
Effective leadership requires courageous collaboration and problem solving, skills that students may not practice through traditional approaches to student leadership in schools. The International School of Helsinki is opening channels for students to share and develop their voice by giving them real opportunities to manage events, respond to student needs, and represent the school. Join this conversation with ISH community members about the potential for student leadership that partners with adults to improve school life for all students. Participants will hear from students about what they value in a student leadership model that responds to their school experience, and their goals for making an impact on the community. Participants will also gain lessons from the adults’ reflections on balancing student learning with adult expectations.
Schools do not need to engineer opportunities for student leadership. Students are eager to share their perspective and capacities through the everyday work of schools. Integrating student voice into the business of school affords us the opportunity to mentor a wide range of aspiring leaders while we learn from them.
Facilitators
The International School of Helsinki Student Voice Commision (SVC) includes more than 1/3 of the school’s Gr. 6-12 students and embody the mission they created: “Practice student voice to promote belonging, inclusivity, empowerment, safety, and trust.” Rachael Thrash, is a school leader and master teacher who has spent her career inspiring students to take action. Rachael believes that student transformation is a process that begins with each individual’s empowerment.
With a Masters from Brown University, Rachael has taught Humanities and English in independent US schools, public community colleges, and international IB schools. At the International School of Helsinki, Rachael serves on the senior leadership team overseeing school-wide student leadership, advisory programming, service learning, as well as teaching MYP Language & Literature. She is also the co-founder of Cultivating Connections that Matter, a toolkit for transformation teaching, and coauthor of an ECIS digital course of the same name.
