What is a “community conversation”? According to Erik Carter,
Vanderbilt University Special Education Professor and creator of
Community Conversations, it is “a way to bring a diverse set of
community members together to collectively brainstorm strategies and
resources that can be used to address a challenge facing the
community.” Traditionally, community conversations engage adults.
However, in April 2018, Berrien Regional Education Service Agency’s
(Berrien RESA) Peer-to-Peer program, with the help of the Statewide
Autism Resources & Training (START) team, flipped the traditional
model and hosted a conversation where students took the lead. Students
are uniquely positioned to understand the social and learning cultures
within their schools, yet rarely are they given opportunities to
spearhead change initiatives.
As part of
Autism Awareness Month, Berrien RESA’s Peer-to-Peer program hosted its
first Community Conversation which included over 150 students, parents,
school leaders, board members and business representatives during the
school day. The task was to brainstorm solutions to two questions that
were developed by both peer mentors and peer mentees (students of all
abilities who participate in the Berrien County Peer-to-Peer program).
The questions were:
- How can we increase
opportunities for students with disabilities to participate in social
events, recreational activities and gain access to employment in Berrien
County?
- What specifically can I do to increase opportunities
for students with disabilities to participate in social events,
recreational activities and gain access to employment in Berrien County?
The
students, with help from their school district’s Peer-to-Peer program
facilitators, were responsible for coordinating the event. They were
asked to use their own social capital to identify and invite
participants, decorate and set-up the meeting space, participate in
media interviews and contribute to the conversations the day of the
event. Not only did this experience give ALL students a voice, the
event contributed to strengthening their planning, organizational and
leadership skills as well.
During the
conversation, students (from elementary through high school) shared
solutions they felt would support a more inclusionary community. For
many students, it was the first time that they felt their ideas were
heard by school leadership, community members, fellow students and
others. Students felt empowered when realizing that “speaking out”
about change, can move systems in a direction to shape the community in
which they reside.
“We had a chance to learn
from adults that we don’t really know and they had a chance to learn
from us. They could hear our side of the story and understand what it
is like to need (and have) support available in the community” -Berrien
County Peer-to-Peer Mentee
For Berrien County,
hosting a student-led community conversation proved to be a wonderful
way to give students a voice-and the data proves that everyone had a lot
to say! Through the conversation, 473 suggestions were identified as
potential answers to the two questions asked. From those 473
suggestions, six ideas were identified as being actionable solutions.
Based on the feedback received using follow-up surveys after the event, a
student-led action committee has been formed with the goal of further
developing the solutions. The committee plans to meet over course of
school year 2018/19 to move from ideas to action.