Data from the CDC stated that approximately forty percent of students don’t feel close to people at school. Sometimes, that can translate into not feeling at home, and feeling uncomfortable, worried, etc. But, at Forest Hills, there is a club that is attempting to combat that, and create a system of belonging in all three Forest Hills schools, Eastern, Northern, and Central: The Shared Voices Committee (SVC).
“The Shared Voices Committee provides the critical student voice to our Belonging efforts in the district,” SVC head Tamasha James said. “Comprised of students from our three high schools, it provides ideas, input, creation, and support to district-wide events for the younger students who are moving to another school. These events, designed by the SVC, make the events meaningful and fun. Students feel welcomed, connected, and have a stronger sense of the FHPS Community.”
The committee is fairly new, only in its second year of action. Before it, there have been other belonging-centered actions, including GLI, or Global Learners Initiative. But this committee is something completely different, and has unique and bright ideas to reach its goals. Open to anyone and everyone, the committee consists of James and high school students from all three high schools. After an overall small committee last year, this year grew to almost 30 students, and hosted events for elementary students to foster a sense of belonging at a young age.
The general goal of the club is to make every student at Forest Hills feel a sense of belonging in school and in the community. Starting with third and fourth grade, the students and James host events to teach these young students to include everyone, and spread kindness as they grow up together and go through their school lives. It also helps give high school students a chance to make an impact on their school and grow as leaders in the community.
“It’s honestly incredible [seeing the growth in kids],” James said. “The younger students light up when they see high schoolers leading activities—they feel seen and cared for. And our SVC members have grown a ton. They’re learning how to lead, communicate effectively with younger kids, and have become more confident.”
The club’s motto is “You belong here.” This statement is spread by the club members and followers on t-shirts, bags, cups, stickers, and through their actions and words. The motto is a key point in their events and is meant to spread the message that students have a space in Forest Hills, and that people do want them there. At events, they incorporate fist bumps along with the motto, as a special thing that the members can do with the kids, and the kids can do with each other, and create a larger sense of belonging.
Junior Chloe Giffel, from Eastern High School, is a current member of the SVC. She joined after seeing it advertised on Eastern’s school news. She thought it would be a fun extracurricular to add to her record, and decided to go to a meeting, and has been a part of the club ever since.
Along with helping the kids, she has noticed positive impacts on herself as a person. She has met many new people in her school and at the schools, and enjoys making an impact on people throughout the district. Through it, she has also developed a deeper understanding of the word belonging and has been able to incorporate it into her life.
“Before this club, I knew what belonging was, but I didn’t know how to show it,” Chloe said. “After this club, my everyday life has changed, and I see myself showing more belonging in my school. I have also learned many things about belonging and inclusion by talking to Mrs. James and other students in the club.”
Chloe has attended both the third and fourth grade events. The third-grade event took place at the Forest Hills Fine Arts Center and consisted of all third-grade classes in the district coming to a fun and interactive event hosted by the high schoolers to learn about belonging. They performed skits, interacted with the students, and played games to inform them how to make an inviting environment. Along with the goal of belonging, the club has given Chloe fun memories throughout her time. She stated that one of her favorite memories was actually from the end of the third-grade bash.
“The dance party after the third grade belonging bash [was a lot of fun],” Chloe said. “After the assembly, there were still some classes left, and we did a big dance party for them. It was so fun dancing to random songs with the kids and my fellow SVC members.”
Similar to Chloe, Junior Cambrie Smith from Central High School also enjoyed the dance party at the end of the third-grade bash. James has spent time advertising at the schools, coming in at lunches with goodies such as snacks and t-shirts to spread the word. Cambrie was one of many Central students whom James roped into the great club. Cambrie joined the club after noticing the opportunity to help elementary school students feel more included.
This year, the students had meetings on one Monday every month. Their meetings were just over an hour and consisted of students collaborating and planning their events and ways to push for belonging for all students. Every student had a voice and shared their own ideas. One of Cambrie’s favorite parts of the club was the collaboration.
“My favorite part about SVC is being able to collaborate,” Cambrie said. “We collaborate with other high schoolers and give ideas about how to make kids feel more included, even sharing personal experiences.”
A large part of their collaboration is trying to make the events fun for the students. The fourth-grade event, which was much different from the third-grade event, took place after school hours. Students’ families could sign them up for a nighttime event at Forest Hills Northern High School to play games, discuss what their transition to the fifth/sixth buildings will look like, and, of course, spread belonging.
Both of these events have already resulted in changes and progression. Cambrie is in teacher cadet, meaning during her sixth hour, she goes and helps out with the elementary schools. She has already noticed progress in the sense of belonging with other students.
“I have seen an impact [at the elementary schools],” Cambrie said. “When I go, I see at recess that many of the older kids will make sure no one is on the buddy bench, and everyone has someone to play with.”
The club also sends out videos to students with their promotions of “You belong here.” They also collaborate with a teacher group and parents from the district. The district board has even pointed out their effectiveness and impact at one of their meetings. The club has already evolved, and continues to as time progresses. They started minor, and branched this year to a district-wide third-grade event in the fall, and an after-school fourth-grade event this spring. Next year, their hope is to include more grades in the process of spreading belonging throughout the district. This will probably include changes in meeting amounts and times, and maybe even the number of people apart of the club.
“We’d love to expand the types of events we host and develop more events for each grade level,” James said. “Long-term, we hope the sense of belonging we build sticks with students, not just in third and fourth grade, but all the way through their school journey. And hopefully, more students want to join SVC and keep that ripple effect going.”
The impact of the committee has already been shown, and hopefully, with their hard work and dedication, they can continue to grow and help improve students’ experiences throughout the district. Their positive energy and inclusivity have seen results from numerous groups of people, and next year means another session of the committee to make an even greater impact. Students interested can find SVC members all over the district, and can reach out to James for information on making a difference.
“SVC is a reminder that student voice matters,” James said. “When students take the lead in creating a kinder, more connected school environment, it’s powerful. We’re not just planning events—we’re creating the conditions that increase belonging in our schools.”
