Tangible Change from Student Voice
June 01, 2026
Arizona’s Creighton schools document how student representatives have brought about visible differences in facility projects, behavioral supports and textbook selection
One of the hardest sacrifices I’ve made during my career came about in April 2024. I had never missed a Creighton Kids Congress, a quarterly meeting of student representatives from each of our schools who weigh in on issues that matter to them. This time I excluded myself from the meeting because the recruitment for the district’s next superintendent was underway, and I was one of the applicants.
The governing board and leadership team of the Creighton School District value student voice and input so highly that the superintendent recruitment team facilitated that meeting to find out what students valued as attributes in a superintendent. Since becoming superintendent in 2024, I have made stakeholder voice an important priority. Increased student input and feedback to proposals have been key to empowering that voice.
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Author
Jay MannInvesting in Students to Lead Peers
During a Creighton Kids Congress meeting, we asked students how we could make the program better.
One student said he was trying to be a leader on his campus out of feeling a responsibility based on his participation in the school’s Principal’s Student Advisory Council and the Kids Congress. He added he would benefit from leadership training. When we asked the other students, we discovered a strong current of desire for leadership development.
My executive team determined that scheduling team building earlier in the school year would accelerate and improve collaboration. In August 2023, a Creighton Kids Congress kickoff was integrated into our Welcome Back Rally for staff. In 2025, in collaboration with Camelback Montessori College Prep, a student-led leadership workshop was added to the program.
The keynote speaker for our first Welcome Back Rally was singer, dancer, actor and motivational speaker Alex Boyé (an 91porn General Session speaker in 2023) who asked to extend his day in our district by working with students. Boyé was so effective at working with our students that we realized there was an enormous opportunity to start team building with our Kids Congress before the start of the school year, develop student leadership skills and use students in planning the work of the coming year. Now we ask each keynote speaker to incorporate this element into the day.
Key Club Role
While attending a presentation by Key Club students from Camelback Montessori College Prep, a school within our partner Camelback High School, I was impressed by the students’ leadership skills. I engaged with the club’s sponsor and the school’s leaders around how our students might work together. This collaboration led to a Leadership and High School Success Workshop developed and facilitated entirely by the Key Club students.
The first-year program, led by high school seniors, was well-received by elementary school peers. This year, a shift to sophomores leading provided two advantages. Our K-8 students were able to more easily connect with peers closer in age and any of our 7th or 8th graders choosing to attend Camelback Montessori College Prep will have an older student on campus they already know.
Feedback from our students on this experience included appreciation for the opportunity to realize their potential as leaders and for developing an understanding of the importance of starting high school strong because of the impact on future opportunities, including college scholarships.
— Jay Mann
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