Student Voices Campaign

In California, students are guaranteed a voice in planning and budgeting for their school district. The Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) requires that districts consult with students, parents, teachers and community members each spring to create an official plan for the coming years. The Student Voices Campaign is a creative way for young people to make their voices heard in their local school district.

Launched by the California Alliance for Arts Education, the campaign invites students in grades 7-12 to create videos that share their vision for better schools and their education and share them with school district leaders as part of the annual LCFF planning process between November 10, 2015 and April 1, 2016.
This year, with support from the California Arts Council and Sony Pictures Entertainment, the program has expanded to include:
  • Classroom Engagement: This year we are piloting a Teacher’s Guide that equips teachers to use the campaign as a project-based learning opportunity, offering students a way to actively explore real-world problems and challenges. Using California Social Studies Standards and National Core Media Arts Standards, the lessons provide a creative way for students to participate in community discussions and planning related to district Local Control Accountability Plans (LCAPs).
  • Student Leadership Lab: The purpose of the Student Leadership Lab is to identify, document and share examples of effective student leadership training and student-led advocacy. As local districts set priorities and funding allocations to comply with California’s Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), young advocates have an important role to play in shaping their education. The lab will promote inspired examples of how students are using an arts-based approach to realize the role envisioned for them in the LCFF in community engagement guidelines. In its first year, the Student Voices Leadership Lab will support student leadership models at two demonstration sites, one school-based (Arcata Arts Institute Student Ambassadors) and one for community arts organizations (Arts for LA, Get Lit and Venice Arts).
  • Student Voices Summit & Screening: As a culminating event, we will convene Student Voices participants at a learning event. This student-focused event will bring together students, teachers, and other stakeholders to screen Student Voices videos, explore student-led advocacy projects, and teach digital storytelling. The event is free and open to all California students grades 7-12. Register here.