Students

Student Agency

What is RWL Student Agency?  

Real World Learning Student Agency refers to the active engagement of students in discussions that directly impact them. Recognizing students as consumers of education underscores the importance of treating them as stakeholders in their school community. The RWL Student Agency program is a collective of young representatives spearheading initiatives to champion student agency within their schools around Real World Learning implementation. These dedicated individuals play a crucial role in advocating for students’ voices and perspectives to be integral components in shaping the educational experience.

When authentic and successful, RWL Student Agency & Voice: 

  • Is sustainable at the district and school level.
  • Is a model for how student-adult partnerships can make a difference in the systemic changes in high school redesign. 
  • Helps students understand who controls what in education, how federal, state, and local governments work together (or don’t), and how their voice can impact decision-making. 
  • Helps students recognize that real-world application of knowledge is what’s best for them. 
  • Leads to innovative, ethical, and profound thinkers. 

RWL Student Advisory Board

The Student Advisory Board consists of 20 students who imagined, designed, and developed the plan for Real World Learning Student Agency for the 2023/24 school year. The Advisory Board is organized into two groups that are supported by Startland Education & Student Reporting Labs:

  • Student Voice Leaders and RWL Student Ambassadors: Leveraging design thinking and an entrepreneurial mindset, they channel their perspectives to inform Real World Learning practices at various levels, playing a pivotal role in raising awareness, mentoring peers, and highlighting the benefits of engaging in RWL experiences.
  • RWL J-Lab and Strategic Communications Lab (Comms-Lab): Focused on sharing compelling Real World Learning stories, using various mediums such as events, print, digital platforms, social media, and videos. This approach empowers students to actively shape and communicate their Real World Learning experiences.

RWL Student Ambassadors

Student Ambassadors play a vital role in promoting the benefits and values of Real World Learning (RWL) within their school districts and across the network. They carry out school-based and/or community outreach initiatives, actively raising awareness about RWL experiences.

RWL Student Voice Delegates

Student Voice Delegates collaborate with districts to address challenges identified by school leaders in implementing Real World Learning (RWL) and high school redesign. They actively contribute to informing RWL practices at the classroom, school, and potentially state levels by channeling their perspectives and insights.

Student J-Lab

Students collaborate across the network of districts to tell the story of Real World Learning (RWL) and student success through photos, blogs, videos, and podcasts. These stories are then published on the RWL blog and featured in a printed quarterly magazine titled “P.O.V.: Publish Our Voices.”

Student Comms-Lab

Students collaborate across the Ambassadors, Delegates, and RWL J-Lab to create and integrated promotion and marketing campaign to actively raise awareness of Real World Learning (RWL) to the broader Kansas City community.