Summaries and Findings

On StudentsSpeakOut.org, young people report their experiences with school and schooling. But the flow of ideas isn't organized–at least not in a conventional way. This page is an attempt to provide some of the insight gleaned on this site on a single, organized page.

MEMOS AND REPORTS

• Students Speak Out.org: A social network for youth civic engagement. Combining skilled offline leadership with the power of the social networking platform to engage young citizens in policymaking. (PDF) Journal of Media Literacy. Volume 55; Number 3. 2009.
• The Milwaukee School Resource Office Program is not working well. But students know how it could. (PDF) June 2009
• What's alternative about Minnesota's alternative-education programs? The schools? Or the students who attend them? (PDF) May 2008
  

ISSUE BRIEFS

• Introduction to the Issue Briefs (PDF)
• ISSUE BRIEF: Alternative Education (PDF) May 5, 2008
• ISSUE BRIEF: Bullying and School Safety (PDF) June 6, 2008
• ISSUE BRIEF: Career Centers in High School (PDF) May 27, 2008
• ISSUE BRIEF: Challenge (PDF) June 8, 2008
• ISSUE BRIEF: Citizenship (PDF) June 10, 2008
• ISSUE BRIEF: Learning Outside of School (PDF) June 30, 2008
• ISSUE BRIEF: No Child Left Behind - Impact on Students (PDF) May 30, 2008
• ISSUE BRIEF: Quality Teaching and Learning (PDF) 2008-09
• ISSUE BRIEF: Respect (PDF) June 2, 2008
• ISSUE BRIEF: Role of Community (PDF) June 17, 2008
• ISSUE BRIEF: Safety and discipline student work group: Proposal for Improving the School Resource Officer Program (PDF) 2008-09
• ISSUE BRIEF: Standardized Tests (PDF) June 11, 2008
• ISSUE BRIEF: Students Have Varying Experiences of "School" (PDF) July 18, 2008
• ISSUE BRIEF: Suspensions (PDF) May 22, 2008
• ISSUE BRIEF: What Students Want at School (PDF) July 1, 2008

INTERVIEW SUMMARY VIDEOS

• Student interviews from workshops at Community HS, W.E.B. Du Bois, and Running Rebels (YouTube Video)
• Students at Alternative Schools
• Student Leaders Address Bullying

STUDENT SURVEYS

• Experiences of Students Who Attend Minnesota Alternative Schools (PDF) May 21, 2008
• Declining Enrollment in Minneapolis Public Schools (PDF) July 9, 2007

SSO IN THE NEWS AND JOURNALS

• Students Speak Out.org: A social network for youth civic engagement. Combining skilled offline leadership with the power of the social networking platform to engage young citizens in policymaking. (PDF) Journal of Media Literacy. Volume 55; Number 3. 2009.
• A New Way to Look at Innovation: Rensselaer Professor Outlines Blueprint for Social Change on Rensselaer Website, August, 2009
• Minnesota Journal, July 2009 (PDF)
  See four pieces related to Students Speak Out-Milwaukee: (1) Reforming Citizenship and Policymaking; (2) The Final Analysis: What MAP 150 taught us about citizen involvement and engagement; (3) Students Speak Out about the price of school safety: Milwaukee SSO student leaders reveal the hidden costs of police presence in schools. (4) What happens when we give students a real voice in education policy discussions? Often they exceed our expectations and improved communication with parents, teachers, and policymakers can produce real results.
• Platforms for Collaboration by Satish Nambisan in Stanford Social Innovation Review, Summer 2009
• Speak out like your President by Sophia Townsend in South Division Cardinal, April, 2009
• Students Use Web Site to Raise Awareness, Work for Change in Education on LearnMore MN, November, 2008
• Helping Shape Minnesota Education on Minnesota Council of Foundations Blog, September 30, 2008
• Milwaukee students speak out on the Web: School issues discussed on social networking site, on Marquette Tribune Web site, September 11, 2008
• MPS board member hopes to give students a voice with new Web site on JSOnline, September 7, 2008
• July 2008 Minnesota Journal Four pieces related to Students Speak Out: (1) What's alternative about Minnesota's alternative education programs? (2) What students can teach us about fixing schools: Students Speak Out online forum offers students a place to talk about their schools, their problems, and ways they think we can make education better; (3) Public policy should be more than an antiseptic numbers game; (4) More trust between students and teachers means less bullying in school., July 2008
• SSO on TPT Almanac (Click this link, then browse the archives for July 25th, 2008)
• Announcing "Minnesota's Future" contest winners in MinnPost. 5/16/2008
• Press release: Announcing the winners of "Minnesota's Future" video contest. May 16, 2008
• They are America's future! on Clothes Line Blog. May 16, 2008
• "I am Minnesota's Future" Video Contest in La Prensa de Minnesota. - Versión en Español. April 25, 2008
• Shane (a SSO Leader) in his school newspaper. (towards the bottom of the page), March 2008

OTHER INFORMATION

• The Value of Telling Stories...
  At SSO we believe in listening to students' stories. This short passage reflects on the importance of stories.
• Minneapolis Public Schools Enrollment Facts