Students Can Make a Difference
Local
- Tell your teachers, counselors, relatives, and friends that you want and expect to go to college. Make sure that your counselor has enrolled you in a course of study that prepares you for college. Develop a plan for graduation, college, and career with the help of your counselor, parents, guardian, and/or mentor.
- Take pictures, make a video, keep a diary, or make a list of the problems students in your high school face. Post this information on a website for classmates and others who may be interested.
- Talk to your parents or other family members about the problems in your high school. Ask your parents or guardian to join and seek change through the Parent Teacher Association or other local organizations dedicated to education reform.
- Write a letter to the school newspaper or local city paper editor to share your views about how to make high schools better.
- Launch a civic engagement activity with your classmates seeking to share your views about how to make high schools better with the mayor, city council members, business leaders, and school administers in your city. Ask local business leaders to sponsor a high school community forum, video showing, or student advocacy trip to the state capitol and/ or Washington, DC.
State
- Make a video of students giving testimonials about their high school experiences.
- Call or write to your state representatives and ask them to review the video and share it with their colleagues.
- Organize your friends and classmates to launch a letter writing campaign requesting your Governor, chief state school officer, and state representatives and senators to reform high schools for the better.
- Organize a group of students to take a trip to your state’s capitol to schedule meetings with state legislators.
National
- Make a video of students giving testimonials about their high school experiences.
- Call or write to your Congress members and ask them to review the video and share it with their colleagues.
- Organize your friends and classmates to launch a letter writing campaign requesting the President and Congress to reform high schools for the better.
- Organize a group of students to take a trip to Washington, DC to schedule meetings with Congressional representatives and senators.
