The VOYCE collaborative believes the engagement of CPS students, themselves, is vital in helping resolve high dropout and low college-enrollment rates that continue to plague Chicago public high schools.  Supported with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Communities for Public Education Reform, the group’s student leaders undertook a year-long study of the reasons for these problems and potential solutions. 
 
Utilizing a unique Participatory Action Research model, VOYCE students carefully examined their own lives and experiences in their schools and crafted two key learning questions to guide their research: 
 

LEARNING QUESTION #1
In the students’ school curriculum, how does academic rigor, significant representation of the students’ community and cultural heritage, and emphasis on critical thinking impact students’ ability and willingness to develop into lifelong learners, who can successfully compete in the 21st century?
 
 

LEARNING QUESTION #2
How does the physical and emotional safety, the relationships among students and with teachers, parents/guardians, and school staff within the school environment impact the student’s ability and desire to learn and graduate? 
 
Youth used the questions to guide their research, which included a statistically significant survey of 1,325 CPS students, in-depth interviews with 208 additional students, 110 teachers, and 65 parents, and site visits to successful schools in six states.
 
During the research process, student leaders envisioned improved schools and learning environments, developed survey questions based on their own educational experiences, identified appropriate data collection methods, performed ethnographic mapping of school communities, made site visits to successful school in Illinois and across the country, reviewed relevant literature, and triangulated all data and responses to identify common themes and perspectives.