Quaglia Institute News and Events

The Power of Voice

Andrea Stringer's latest blog post discusses the need to be having conversations where everyone has a voice and actively listens - the students, teachers and leaders. How well are we listening and who currently has the most influential voice?

Resources for talking to students about politics, civic engagement, and uncertainty

The ASCD is providing a number of free resources for talking to students about politics, civic engagement, and uncertainty, including Dr. Quaglia's latest book The Power of Voice in Schools.  

Dr. Joseph Meloche, Cherry Hill School District

Congratulations to Dr. Meloche, 2021 Superintendent of the Year Region III! 

Thomas Edison Middle School

The Aspirations Team at Thomas Edison Middle School in Los Angeles recently engaged in a Voice Systems Self-Assessment exercise.  The team celebrated areas of growth, and identified areas for continued improvement.  The day after the meeting, the team took immediate action and began to work on a variety of ways to continue amplifying student voice at Edison, including the following:

  • Identifying student "Eagle" Representatives in each Advisory class and partnering with them to gather student ideas for school improvement that can be included in the school’s Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) plan and actions.
  • Including students in Schoolwide Positive Behavior Intervention Plan meetings.
  • Administering the Student Voice Survey in order to learn from students what their experiences are like during emergency remote learning.

Chatsworth Charter High School

Students at Chatsworth Charter High School in Los Angeles recently completed all 6 of the My Voice My Future student webinars. Students worked together to research opportunities for young people to virtually engage in civic action related to causes they care about.  QISVA was honored to learn from student presentations in which they screen shared each resource and explained why they thought these resources would support student understanding of how they can use their voices for the Good of the Whole.

In their concluding remarks, one student said that all of the resources they suggested "give a voice to the voiceless"—something they think is a very important part of using your voice for the Good of the Whole.  Thanks to the CCHS students for introducing us to these amazing resources that will be shared with all students engaging in the My Voice, My Future series moving forward.

Maui Complex Educators Complete the Quaglia Institute Facilitator Training

Congratulations to Maui Complex educators for completing The Quaglia Institute Facilitator Training. The QISVA team has truly enjoyed working with such a talented and passionate group of educators. We look forward to watching student voice continue to grow in the Maui Complex. The ten new trainers are: Benjamin Callahan, Christine Oshita, Danielle Tevis, Desiree Sides, Jennifer Rikert, Jill Schwindler, Juvy Ventura, Lauren Lott, Lori Yatsushiro, and Miki Kubo.

Student Voice Webinars

Quaglia Institute is excited to announce My Voice, My Future, a series of webinars for students to amplify their voices in positive ways. These webinars will help students develop the skills necessary to navigate the inevitable changes in their educational lives. To view a trailer, please visit this page.

Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), California

The Quaglia Schools of Action in LAUSD have shown great progress in their efforts to amplify student voice and aspirations and are prepared to meet the challenges that COVID-19 has brought about with emergency remote learning. To continue momentum in the area of student voice and aspirations, the Quaglia Institute will support Schools of Action in their efforts to grow and sustain this work in the online context and when schools transition back to learning in physical school buildings.

Brisbane Catholic Education (BCE), Australia

Twenty BCE educators are enrolled in the Quaglia Institute's voice certification process. These educators are participating in a series of Voice Professional Development sessions with the goal of being certified to lead training in their district. Educators in Brisbane are listening, learning, and leading with students.  Visit https://www.bne.catholic.edu.au/Pages/default.aspx to learn more about student voice in Brisbane. 

Australia Consultants

QISVA is currently training highly skilled educators as consultants in Australia. These consultants will be supporting the work of the Australian Institute for Voice and Aspirations (AIVA) as student voice continues to grow and expand across the continent. For more information on AIVA, please contact Jason Caine, Chief Executive Officer, Asia Pacific at [email protected].

Woodside High School, California

Staff at Woodside High School are committed to amplifying student voice during emergency remote learning. Students are serving as critical partners in figuring out how to maximize engagement in learning and continuing to foster the Wildcat Way via virtual means. In particular, the school community is focused on supporting incoming freshmen with a wide variety of supports and the delivery of yard signs to officially welcome the class of 2024.