Data

General Issues
Education
Specific Topics
School Governance
Elementary & Secondary Education
Youth Issues
Location
Houston
Texas
United States
Scope of Influence
City/Town
Links
StuCon Website
Start Date
Ongoing
No
Purpose/Goal
Make, influence, or challenge decisions of government and public bodies
Approach
Advocacy
Informal engagement by intermediaries with nongovernmental authorities
Spectrum of Public Participation
Involve
Total Number of Participants
3000
Open to All or Limited to Some?
Open to All
Targeted Demographics
Youth
Students
General Types of Methods
Informal participation
Evaluation, oversight, and social auditing
Specific Methods, Tools & Techniques
Survey
Legality
No
Facilitators
No
Face-to-Face, Online, or Both
Online
Types of Interaction Among Participants
Express Opinions/Preferences Only
Decision Methods
Not Applicable
Communication of Insights & Outcomes
Traditional Media
Funder
Institute of Engagement; Simmons Foundation
Type of Funder
Philanthropic Organization
Community Based Organization
Staff
No
Volunteers
Yes
Evidence of Impact
Yes
Types of Change
Changes in how institutions operate
Implementers of Change
Appointed Public Servants
Formal Evaluation
No

CASE

HISD StuCon: COVID-19 School Reopening Survey

April 17, 2021 kballen
General Issues
Education
Specific Topics
School Governance
Elementary & Secondary Education
Youth Issues
Location
Houston
Texas
United States
Scope of Influence
City/Town
Links
StuCon Website
Start Date
Ongoing
No
Purpose/Goal
Make, influence, or challenge decisions of government and public bodies
Approach
Advocacy
Informal engagement by intermediaries with nongovernmental authorities
Spectrum of Public Participation
Involve
Total Number of Participants
3000
Open to All or Limited to Some?
Open to All
Targeted Demographics
Youth
Students
General Types of Methods
Informal participation
Evaluation, oversight, and social auditing
Specific Methods, Tools & Techniques
Survey
Legality
No
Facilitators
No
Face-to-Face, Online, or Both
Online
Types of Interaction Among Participants
Express Opinions/Preferences Only
Decision Methods
Not Applicable
Communication of Insights & Outcomes
Traditional Media
Funder
Institute of Engagement; Simmons Foundation
Type of Funder
Philanthropic Organization
Community Based Organization
Staff
No
Volunteers
Yes
Evidence of Impact
Yes
Types of Change
Changes in how institutions operate
Implementers of Change
Appointed Public Servants
Formal Evaluation
No

The Houston Independent School District Student Congress “HISD StuCon” launched a survey to gain student input about school reopening during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Problems and Purpose

By surveying students about COVID-19 school reopening plans, StuCon hoped decisions could be made by district leaders with students’ safety and preferences in mind.[1] StuCon created this survey because students had not been included in decisions around school reopening plans.

Background History and Context

HISD StuCon is the official student voice group for the Houston Independent School District. The Congress is charged with representing the district’s student interests and collaborating with the school district on the student body’s behalf. In 2014 Zaakir Tameez, a junior at Carnegie Vanguard High School in Houston, created StuCon for a school capstone project.[2] While there were individual student councils at schools mostly focused on putting together events like prom, there was no district wide mechanism for student voice.[3] Tameez convened students from Bellaire, Carnegie, Lamar, and Yates high schools to discuss current events and to meet with local leaders. However, the group quickly realized that there would be power in them becoming a Congress to be an official mechanism to provide student voice and feedback to the district. Previously, there had been no official mechanism for student feedback in the Houston school district.[4] The Congress garnered support from district administration and in November 2014, HISD school board voted to make StuCon an official organization and voice for students in the school district.[5] StuCon became the first multi-school student voice group in Texas.[6] Since inception, StuCon has written briefs for the state supreme court, attended school board meetings, hosted a TEDx event, held trainings, and raised important issues with the press and their community.[7] Over the years, StuCon has struggled to collaborate with the district, citing that they have not had consistent advisors, communication channels, or funding.[8]

Initially, the district was involved in StuCon, attending StuCon meetings and inviting students to various district meetings. The district also helped recruit students and helped StuCon find space for meetings.[9] The school board’s resolution to recognize StuCon states that the Superintendent or another designee will be a main point of contact and that there should be monthly meetings between the district and StuCon.[10] However, StuCon reports that district interaction has halted despite invitations being sent out. Some StuCon members believe that frequent turnover at the district has led to lower engagement.[11] StuCon founding documents do not prescribe official mechanisms for input with the district outside of meetings between StuCon and district leaders. This lack of prescription provides flexibility but also haziness around relationship between StuCon and the district.

On July 12, 2020, StuCon sent out a survey to their peers to gain their thoughts on HISD COVID-19 school reopening plans. StuCon felt that the student voice was not being considered in these decisions, as only teachers and parents had been surveyed. The innovation in this instance was a student-run, student-poll to gain feedback on district plans and hopefully influence administrative decisions. While StuCon has a long history of facilitating student input, there had never been a student focused survey of this size in the school district. [12]

Organizing, Supporting, and Funding Entities

At first, StuCon was convened independently by a group of students from HISD schools. In November 2014, the group became an official organization of HISD charged with facilitating student voice and being a conduit between students and the district. At first, StuCon had a leadership team of five annually elected individuals, including a Speaker who led the organization.[13] Currently, the group is a leadership team of 12 students from various different Houston public high schools, across 9th – 12th grade. There are three White, two Black, two Asian, and five Latinx members. The leadership team was selected through an application process run by previous alumni of StuCon. Currently, a few alumni of the StuCon serve as the primary advisors. The Leadership team meets weekly through Zoom. Current leaders cite a desire to get involved, make a difference, and have their voices be heard in their education as reasons for involvement. StuCon has never has a small group of members outside of Leadership and is open to anyone.[14]

Soon after its founding, StuCon received a small $10,000 grant from the Simmons Foundation. Initially the funds were housed at HISD but then were eventually moved out because StuCon was having trouble accessing their dollars. Currently, the Institute of Engagement – a civic engagement organization in Houston started by StuCon alumni – provides funding for supplies and is working to eventually provide stipends to StuCon leaders.[15]

Participant Selection and Recruitment

The July 2020 survey was sent out by StuCon members posting on social media and emailing teachers to pass along the survey to their students. Those involved report the survey going viral with many reposting and encouraging participation. There was no specific target audience within the student population, and we do not have demographic data about who completed the survey. The survey was also opened to teachers and parents but was mostly focused on students. [16]

Methods and Tools Used

The method used was survey – a tool to collect information from a group.[17] The survey was created on Google Forms and was designed to give community input into institutional decisions and potential plans.[18] The survey asked about preferences on reopening and had participants rate their comfort on scales of 1-5. There were also questions about access to resources for at-home learning, like technology and food. There were questions about what an eventual return to in-person learning might look like (eg: “Would you wear a mask in school?” “Would you be willing to wait until teachers are vaccinated to return to school in person”). Lastly, the survey also included some innovations for the student experience - such as using bus stops as food pick up sites - and garnered students’ reactions to these ideas.[19]

The school reopening survey was specifically spearheaded by one student, current speaker of StuCon and Senior at Houston Heights High School, Jennifer Hamad. As mentioned above, Hamad cites the district’s lack of input from students in school reopening as her motivation for organizing the survey.[20] Hamad put together the survey with a few other peers; the entire leadership was not involved and there was no organization-wide design process. [21] Other students in the district were not involved in the design of the survey either.

What Went On: Process, Interaction, and Participation

The survey had about 3,000 respondents from across the district.[22] The survey revealed that students did not favor in person learning. 74% of respondents said that they would prefer school be virtual until the community was vaccinated. 58.6% did not feel that a hybrid semester would be safer than a fully in-person semester.[23] The rest of the findings are not public. The plan was to share results with district and state leaders, but student leaders decided to share the information with the press and gained national and local media attention, such as from CBS News. Students, teachers, and parents all publicly faulted the district for not including student voices. Students leveraged the press to add additional pressure to the district and weight to their survey results.[24] 

Influence, Outcome, Effects

After the news coverage, the district reached out to students, asking to meet and discuss the survey results.[25] In the end, the district did adopt a plan that prioritized virtual learning for the first six weeks of the year.[26]

A few months after the survey, the district attempted to sever ties with StuCon through a school board vote. The Superintendent claimed that StuCon did not have strong representation from enough schools and that communication channels with the district were not strong.[27] Students quickly responded that they had been communicating; their notes were just not returned.[28] The district wanted to replace StuCon with a council that they would operate with a more formal selection process for participants.[29] After student and alumni advocacy, the school board tabled the vote with the hopes that the district and StuCon could still work together & that everyone who wants to participate in the student voice could.[30]

Analysis and Lessons Learned

The organizers felt positively about the survey, particularly the media attention it received and the role the survey played in amplifying hidden voices.[31] The district did not make a public comment about the survey, though it seems like the survey may have embarrassed them and moved them to a more virtual-heavy reopening plan. The survey was effective in adding pressure and increasing constituent participation, but the lack of an institutional relationship between the district and StuCon may have put consistent and future student voice at risk. The survey, its student design, and its reach were innovative as students had not been polled on such a scale before. And the survey’s questions gave students space to give feedback on innovative ideas and their needs during virtual learning. The survey may have been stronger and more respected within the District if there was a more structured design process and committee. Or, perhaps that level of structure could have stunted the scrappy energy that made the survey successful.

StuCon varies somewhat from other more institutionally controlled youth councils, such as the Mayor’s Youth Council in Boston. Students in the Boston Youth Council are selected by city staff. With the support of a full-time staff member, students facilitate a participatory budgeting process and vote on how to allocate portions of the city budget. Unlike StuCon, the Boston model has consistent, structured opportunities for student input. Though, there is a tradeoff. The Youth Council in Boston can censor who can participate and which projects are funded, whereas a model like StuCon has more autonomy over projects and participation. StuCon can be critical of their institutional partner and take on any project that excites its members.[32]

 

See Also

https://participedia.net/method/565

https://participedia.net/case/4176


References

[1] Kara, Corte (2020). CBS News. “Houston Students Want To Be Heard In School Reopening Conversation.” https://www.cbsnews.com/news/houston-students-school-reopening-conversation-coronavirus-pandemic

[2] HISD Communications (2015). HISD News Blog. “Student Congress giving high school kids a voice in their own education.” https://blogs.houstonisd.org/news/2015/01/05/student-congress-giving-high-school-kids-a-voice-in-their-own-education/

[3] Interview with StuCon Leader (2021).

[4] HISD Communications (2015). HISD News Blog. “Student Congress giving high school kids a voice in their own education.” https://blogs.houstonisd.org/news/2015/01/05/student-congress-giving-high-school-kids-a-voice-in-their-own-education/

[5] HISD Board of Education (2014). “November 13, 2014 Agenda.” https://www.houstonisd.org/site/handlers/filedownload.ashx?moduleinstanceid=51135&dataid=126358&FileName=111314OA_POST.pdf

[6] HISD Communications (2015). HISD News Blog. “Student Congress giving high school kids a voice in their own education” https://blogs.houstonisd.org/news/2015/01/05/student-congress-giving-high-school-kids-a-voice-in-their-own-education/

[7] HISD Student Congress Website (Accessed 2021). https://hisdstudentcongress.wordpress.com

[8] HISD StuCon Twitter (2020). https://twitter.com/HISDStuCon/status/1357770561569619968

[9] Interview with StuCon Leader (2021).

[10] HISD Board of Education. Board Policy Manual. “Students Rights and Responsibilities: Involvement in Decision Making.” https://pol.tasb.org/Policy/Download/592?filename=FNB1(REGULATION).pdf 

[11] Interview with StuCon Leader (2021).

[12] Kara, Corte (2020). CBS News. “Houston Students Want To Be Heard In School Reopening Conversation.” https://www.cbsnews.com/news/houston-students-school-reopening-conversation-coronavirus-pandemic

[13] Interview with StuCon Leader (2021).

[14] Interview with StuCon Leaders (2021).

[15] Interview with StuCon Leaders (2021).

[16] Interview with StuCon Leaders (2021).

[17] Participedia. “Survey.” https://participedia.net/method/565

[18] Interview with StuCon Leaders (2021).

[19] Interview with StuCon Leader (2021).

[20] Kara, Corte (2020). CBS News. “Houston Students Want To Be Heard In School Reopening Conversation.” https://www.cbsnews.com/news/houston-students-school-reopening-conversation-coronavirus-pandemic

[20] Interview with StuCon Leader (2021).

[21] Interview with StuCon Leaders (2021).

[22] Kara, Corte (2020). CBS News. “Houston Students Want To Be Heard In School Reopening Conversation.” https://www.cbsnews.com/news/houston-students-school-reopening-conversation-coronavirus-pandemic

[23] Kara, Corte (2020). CBS News. “Houston Students Want To Be Heard In School Reopening Conversation.” https://www.cbsnews.com/news/houston-students-school-reopening-conversation-coronavirus-pandemic

[24] Kara, Corte (2020). CBS News. “Houston Students Want To Be Heard In School Reopening Conversation.” https://www.cbsnews.com/news/houston-students-school-reopening-conversation-coronavirus-pandemic

[25] Interview with StuCon Leader (2021).

[26]Moreno, Mayra. ABC 13 News. (2020) “HISD Student Congress Raises Concerns About In-Person Learning.”

 https://abc13.com/coronavirus-pandemic-covid-19-covid-outbreak-hisd-student-congress/7062964/

[27] HISD Board of Education (2014).” February 11, 2020 Agenda.

[28] Isensee, Laura. Houston Public Media (2021). “HISD Proposal to Cut Off Student Congress Draws Controversy.” https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/education-

[29] HISD Board of Education (2021).” February 11, 2021 Agenda. https://www.houstonisd.org/site/handlers/filedownload.ashx?moduleinstanceid=51135&dataid=318438&FileName=021121OA_POST.pdf

[30] Isensee, Laura. Houston Public Media (2021). “HISD Proposal to Cut Off Student Congress Draws Controversy.” https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/education-news/2021/02/11/391192/hisds-proposal-to-cut-off-student-congress-draws-controversy/

[31] Interview with StuCon Leaders (2021).

[32] Participedia. “Youth Lead the Change: Boston’s Youth-Focused Participatory Budgeting Project” https://participedia.net/case/4176


External Links

https://hisdstudentcongress.wordpress.com

https://www.houstonisd.org/site/handlers/filedownload.ashx?moduleinstanceid=51135&dataid=126358&FileName=111314OA_POST.pdf

https://www.houstonisd.org/site/handlers/filedownload.ashx?moduleinstanceid=51135&dataid=318438&FileName=021121OA_POST.pdf

https://pol.tasb.org/Policy/Download/592?filename=FNB1(REGULATION).pdf

 

Notes