Puget Sound Educational Service District 2023 Regional Teacher of the Year Shane Monroe on Elevating Student Voice Within Classroom Communities

Shane Monroe

As the Puget Sound Educational Service District 121 Regional Teacher of the Year, serving as a spokesperson and representative for teachers and students, my message is a call to action to elevate student voice. Stuvoice.org, the by-students, for-students nonprofit advocating for student-driven solutions to educational inequity, defines student voice as: “recognizing and acting upon the fact that students are the primary stakeholders of our education and should be partners in shaping it.” Student Voice’s work is guided by the belief that “equity and justice within our schools will only be achieved when power is meaningfully shifted towards young people, particularly toward students with identities who are most marginalized by our nation’s education system.”

When reflecting on stuvoice.org’s mission statement as an elementary educator, the initial thought of giving our youngest students the power to make decisions within our classroom communities is… startling at best. However, it is important to pause and recognize the word power should not directly translate to full and total control, in any capacity of its context. Within the classroom, power should be thought of as emphasizing continued elevation of ideas and feedback from our students. Read More