Buckeye Reporter

Five Fairview High School sophomores have been working all year to make a positive difference at their school.

Mallory Allen, Kylie Bass, Gabby Davenport, Marty Hoskin and Brooklyn Reed were nominated to represent Fairview High School and the Fairview Park City School District at the First Ring Student Leadership Institute. The Institute’s goal is to develop leadership skills in high school students while empowering them to solve important issues at their building.

In October, these five students joined peers from 16 other local school districts that directly touch the borders of Cleveland, otherwise known as the First Ring schools. During that time, First Ring students have learned about scientific research techniques thanks to a collaboration with Cleveland State University. The institute is a collaborative effort between the Educational Service Center of Northeast Ohio and CSU.

With each First Ring school district comes different issues. Fairview students chose a subject they felt affected them the most.

“What we were trying to identify in our research are the causes of academic burnout in our school,” Allen explained. “With returning from COVID, and possibly the school year in general, some students are academically detached.”

“We mostly went off something that we could relate ourselves to,” Hoskin added. “Most of us are in honors or advanced classes. So we kind of get that sense that it’s a lot of work. And with COVID and everything, we can relate to that ourselves. So we asked around with our friends and we found that there is burnout in the student body.”

The five students developed a survey based on this subject and distributed it to students. The group hoped for at least 60 percent participation from each grade level.

“We administered the survey in grades 9 through 12 because a senior might have a different perspective than a freshman would,” Davenport expressed. “We wanted a basic overall understanding of what’s causing their burnout. How motivated or less motivated are they? How might it affect other relationships? We also tried to identify other causes. Maybe it’s with sports, or work, or friends and family.”

“We’re looking at particularly what causes are most acute at our school and among high school students at Fairview, so we can tailor an intervention that’s most beneficial and productive,” Allen added.

According to the students, another benefit of the Institute is the collaboration that exists between First Ring schools.

“I liked the fact that we got to talk with other schools about their issues and see the differences in our school,” Reed said. “Some people had similar issues to us. It was good to get insight on how people were going to fix their issue.”

These sophomores will collect and analyze the data during the second semester, culminating in a presentation to the First Ring superintendents in May. In addition, these students will visit the Columbus area and interact with students in a similar leadership program.

“I think this is perfectly aligned with what we are asking our students to do here,” Grant Graves, social studies teacher at Fairview High School and district leader for the First Ring Student Institute explained. “I think it’s at the height of what we are asking our students to do. I’ll be incredibly proud of them when they go and present with the superintendents, or elaborate with folks in Columbus…when we are crossing those barriers and breaking those walls down to the real world, that is preparation for life outside of high school.”

“When you empower students with that ability to take their passion and run with it and make a difference, it gives them strength,” Bill Wagner, co-director of the First Ring Schools Collaborative and former superintendent of the Fairview Park City Schools explained. “When they move on to take on bigger challenges, they can be prepared for those sort of exercises and experiences on into the rest of their life. That’s a tremendous gift that we can give them.”

“The program has given us a voice,” Bass expressed. “As kids, teenagers, not adults yet, people kind of push us aside. I feel like it gives us a little bit more of a voice. We can actually bring problems that are happening with students and share those and express what we have to say about it.”

Original source can be found here.