While VOYCE recognizes initiatives that are already underway to address the dropout rate through the Graduation Pathways Initiative, the Office of Post-Secondary Education, and the Office of Teaching and Learning, it also recognizes that there is still a strong need for institutionalized and systemic student voice and perspective on issues of high school reform. In order to do this, there need to be strong partnerships between students and their teachers and administrators at local schools, and a strong relationship between those stakeholders and the District-level decision-makers within CPS. 

In order to accomplish, based on the findings of its student-led major research project, VOYCE recommends improvements in the several key areas.

RIGOR AND RELEVANCE OF CURRICULUM
VOYCE recommends that CPS and its various curriculum vendors work with students to revisit curriculum and subject matter to make it more rigorous and relevant to students, create spaces for the combination of academic knowledge and community wisdom, and develop the critical thinking skills of young people.

In order to create a more relevant curriculum, VOYCE recommends:

• Connection to Life Experience and Real World Issues: Relevance includes a connection between subject matter and students’ real life issues, and the historical struggles of their communities. Additionally, curriculum would work to broaden students’ world view, through analyzing local as well as international issues. 
• Student-led Research: Students should be encouraged to engage in high level research projects of their choice that both build their academic skills and increase their understanding of the community around them. 
• Connection to Career Opportunities: Courses should include a means to apply subject matter to real world career and professional opportunities. 

In order to create a more rigorous curriculum, VOYCE recommends:

• ACT and College Entry Requirements: The curriculum offered at every public high school is aligned with ACT standards and college entry requirements so that students will be able to attend the college of their choice. 
• Avoid Subject Matter Repetition: Curriculum is aligned across grade levels from 8th grade through the first year ofcollege to maximize student learning and avoid unnecessary repetition of subject matter from one grade level to the next. 
• College Level Coursework: Curriculum includes longer blocked classes with college-level coursework, time for student-driven learning, and interactive projects. 

TEACHING TECHNIQUES

• Community orientations: VOYCE recommends that students have the opportunity to design and implement community orientations for teachers to build their understanding of the value of the communities in which they teach. 
• Student/Teacher Partnerships: VOYCE recommends that students have the opportunity to partner with teachers, administrators, representatives from CPS, and institutions of higher education to discuss ways to broaden the range of teaching techniques that are used in the classrooms of Chicago’s public high schools, keep teachers current with the most innovative teaching practices, and promote student centered learning. VOYCE recommends that the training and professional development that teachers receive on these topics counts towards national board certification. 
• Interdisciplinary Projects: Teachers need to have the space and time to communicate and collaborate with other teachers in order to share best practices and common challenges, and to develop interdisciplinary projects based on student interests. 

FRESHMAN YEAR

• Freshman Orientation: VOYCE recommends that students play a critical role in the design of freshman orientations. Freshman orientation should be led by dynamic teachers and students from different grades, experienced counselors, and in partnership with community-based organizations. In addition to providing new students with inspiration and information about what to expect in high school, orientations should include: 
• Personalized 4-Year Graduation Plans: VOYCE recommends that personalized plans be developed for students to determine what courses they will need in order to attend any college of their choice, begin thinking about what careers they might be interested in, and courses and extra curricular activities that are based on their interests. 
• Ongoing Relationship Building, Counseling and Motivation: VOYCE recommends that structures be put in place for the relationship building, counseling, and motivation that starts at the beginning of freshman year to continue throughout the four years of high school. This could happen during class time, through more effective use of long division, the re-institution of student development days, learning circles around real-life issues facing students, meaningful coursework and/or extracurricular projects that connect freshman with upperclassmen, and more. 
• Freshman Orientation Retreats: VOYCE recommends that CPS hold Freshman Orientation Retreats for a subset of every freshman class that targets students most at-risk of dropping out. These students would be identified through existing data sources about on-track rates as well as student-developed processes. 

SAFETY AND SECURITY 
VOYCE believes that a positive learning environment creates the foundation for a safe and secure environment. In addition to the recommendations regarding the development of a positive learning environment, VOYCE has specific recommendations regarding how discipline is handled in the school, and how safe spaces can be created for all students. 

• Regular safety and security meetings: Have regular meetings with the principal, security staff, teachers, students, and parents to evaluate the safety of the school and to discuss and make decisions about how to improve safety. Through these meetings, students, teachers, and security guards would develop a better system of accountability and peer to peer influence. 
• Prevention Versus Zero Tolerance: Change zero tolerance focus to one of prevention and increased support with non-punitive measures for non-criminal offenses. Instead of being suspended and falling so far behind that they can’t catch up, the students would go through the following process:

1. Warning for first offense. 
2. Being assigned to community service hours that are meaningful and not demeaning, providingthe student a feeling of accomplishment and accountability to the community. 
3. Participating in a Peace Circle to talk about the problems they are facing and to create positive solutions. 
4. Fourth offense would be suspension and a mandatory tutor to ensure that the student doesn’t fall behind. In addition, there would be a mandatory meeting with the administration, parents and student council (peer jury model) to discuss what is going on and how to help the student stay in school, and not be a negative influence within the school community. 

ADDITIONAL RECOMMENDATIONS
 

• Bringing Illinois up to national standards for equitable funding for public education. Illinois continues to have one of the worst records in the nation for providing adequate school funding, having the 49th lowest state share of school funding and the largest disparities in the nation in funding between its school districts. 
• A longer school day for Chicago Public School students. In Illinois, poor-performing districts tend to have shorter school days and tend to have high concentrations of low-income, minority students. Wealthier districts with higher test scores tend to have longer school days. 
• Increasing access to higher education for undocumented students. The State of Illinois passed in-state tuition for undocumented students in 2003, however they are still unable to receive financial aid and loans for college, and it is difficult to receive scholarships. 

Additional information:

Participatory Action Research |Findings | Pilot Projects | Publications | Download the Report (PDF)