By Isis Bandele-Asante, Program Associate
On September 25th, UP went to Wilmington, Delaware, to continue its longstanding partnership with the Brandywine School District (BSD). While there, we had two day long retreats, one with middle and high school Student Voice Advisories (SVAs), and the other with elementary school SVAs.
Our first retreat with middle and high schoolers kicked off with exploring various leadership styles and their strengths and weaknesses. We reflected on some of the experiences students have had with different styles and which students felt were most effective. We then looked at UP’s Seed to Tree, exploring the connection between youth-adult partnership (YAP) and successful SVAs. After lunch, each school team met and worked on defining their identity as an SVA, recruiting, and visioning for the coming year.
With our elementary school SVAs, we had an action-packed day filled with team building and data analysis! We started off going over some of our foundational YAP resources, exploring how shared decision making can look and feel.
We then ran a data analysis activity based on BSD statistics from elementary schools collected through their Panorama Survey. This allowed us to identify key strengths and areas for growth SVAs can address throughout the year. To close, we started action planning for the coming school year, building on the skills we learned.
The Brandywine SVAs have been hard at work transforming their schools and elevating student voice. We look forward to continuing our partnership with such an amazing group of leaders!
