Since fall 2020, groups of Columbus St. Charles Preparatory School juniors have taken part in Ohio State University’s Student Research Leadership Collaborative. Through the collaborative, they have shared stories, experiences and concerns with diverse populations of fellow high school students from across Ohio.
Participants receive guidance from the program’s staff members to develop leadership and public presentation skills. Throughout the year, participants explore student needs and issues affecting their school experience and develop strategies to address them.
Two student ideas born from this process have since been implemented with significant student input: establishment of the St. Charles Student Advisory Board and creation of the Learning Formation Center.
These new programs are benefitting the student body.
The St. Charles Student Advisory Board was created before the 2022-2023 school year. The board helps the administration identify strengths and address weaknesses of the school’s educational practices and culture.
It also provides a way for students to be heard and to feel supported. By soliciting student feedback about school policies and decision making, the board gives students a voice in their education and a way to shape the school’s vision.
The board consists of student leaders, including Student Council officers, presidents of My Brother’s Keeper and the National Honor Society and leaders in the Ambassadors Club and Campus Ministry Team. It meets every two weeks, either during the daily Enrichment Period or after school. Through open discussion, the board works to create clear communication and a closer relationship between students and the administration and faculty.
Currently, the Student Advisory Board is working to improve and expand the school’s My Brother’s Keeper mentoring program. It also continues to develop ways to support the school’s students of color. This includes initiating discussion forums as well as seeking the input and involvement of St. Charles alumni of color.
Rick Ey, an alumnus and the school’s vice principal for student services who heads the advisory board, says one of its goals is to “listen to concerns about the experiences of minority students at St. Charles and to discuss and initiate ways to support them more fully.”
“While an overarching purpose of the board is to allow for student involvement in the formation and strengthening of St. Charles culture, we moreover want students of color to feel a part of that process.”
The seed for the creation of the Learning Formation Center in the Holy Angels Library, was planted by students during the OSU program’s inaugural year. They identified a need at St. Charles for more strategic assistance for students who are struggling academically.
A team of seven educators and an intervention specialist work to identify and support these students. The team members check in personally with students during study halls, before and after school and during the day’s Enrichment Period to make sure they are on-task and successful in and out of the classroom.
Today, a year and a half since the inception of the Learning Formation Center, the student-retention rate and the number of students who are academically eligible to participate in athletics have significantly improved.
Kristen Dickerson, guidance counselor at St. Charles, has coordinated the OSU program during the past two years. She said the program “has given our students the opportunity to identify issues in our school and to come up with creative ways to address and solve the problems.”
Thanks to this leadership program, St. Charles students have not only been empowered to shape their high school experience but also become integral in creating meaningful changes that will benefit students now and into the future.
