KaRa Lyn Thompson [kah-rah] is a community builder passionate about shaping inclusive, connected, and resilient individuals, organizations, and communities. Her years of professional experience supporting various higher education, non-profit and civic-minded organizations have highlighted skills in facilitation, program design, and project management to empower people and build capacity.
Student Voice and Choice: Equitable Decision-making through School Participatory Budgeting
How can the inclusion of student voice in budgetary decisions increase equity, develop agency and positively impact school climate? We explore this question by sharing an innovative model of K12 civic engagement called School Participatory Budgeting (SPB). SPB follows a five-step process that focuses on listening to student voices to imagine new possibilities on how to improve their school community using a portion of the school or district’s budget. SPB is designed to connect students to real-world experiences that enhance school-day learning by identifying needs, developing solutions, and voting to create a positive change for their community. In 2013, Phoenix Union High School District pioneered the first SPB model. Ten years later, over 60 schools and 70,000 students are engaged in SPB in Arizona. In our session, we provide an overview of the SPB process, highlighting success, challenges, and recommendations, and sharing findings on student and school impact from our partners.