Washoe County School District

 The power of listening

 "We think we listen, but very rarely do we listen with real understanding, true empathy. Yet listening, of this very special kind, is one of the most potent forces for change that I know." -Carl Rogers

"I don't really have a favorite subject. It just depends on the teachers I get every year. Teachers who I connect with make me like any subject." -7th grade student

"When my teachers listen to me, it makes me respect them more. The teachers who don't really listen or care about what I think, I don't want to learn from them?" -9th grade student

"When I look back, the teachers who listened and cared about me are the teachers I remember the most. And when I think about them, I can still remember all the things they taught me." -12th grade student

What is student voice? 

We asked students around our district what student voice means to them and this is what they said: 

"Student Voice means being able to tell our teachers and principal what we want our schools to be like." -4th grade student

"I think student voice means being able to speak up more about what and how we want to learn in school. Sometimes teachers forget that we're all different and need different things." -8th grade student

"Student voice? I guess it would be like when teachers stop worrying so much about teaching as many lessons as they can and let us have time to talk too." -12th grade student