The National Association of Secondary School Principals has won a federal grant to involve high school students in creating “civic action plans” to improve their schools and communities.
The association plans to work through the National Association of Student Councils, which it sponsors, to help students in 780 schools in 41 states. The program, called Raising Student Voice and Participation, will be supported by the $325,000 grant from the federal Corporation for National and Community Service for this school year.
Gerald N. Tirozzi, the executive director of the Reston, Va.-based association, noted in a press release that the national call to reform high schools has pointed to “the importance of incorporating student voice in community outreach and school improvement.”
The program will be designed to help students understand their responsibility to become informed and offer a productive voice for change, the NASSP said.