Voice4Change, a first-of-its-kind campaign administered by the Connecticut State Department of Education, will empower high school students to decide how American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary Schools Emergency Relief funds are spent.
A total of 43 districts encompassing 77 high schools across Connecticut have opted-in to participate, representing more than 55,000 students. Brookfield, Masuk, Oxford, and Wilton High Schools are among those participating.
The goal for the initiative is to increase student engagement while fulfilling the Connecticut State Board of Education’s vision of ensuring students thrive in a global economy and civic life by challenging students to think critically and solve real-world problems. More that $1.5 million of relief funds the state set-aside will be invested to reimagine schools across Connecticut.
Students from the participating schools will submit proposals to the State Department of Education outlining how they propose to spend 20-thousand dollars in their school, aligned with the department’s priorities. Proposals deemed eligible will ultimately be voted on by their high school peers on March 11th, one year after the American Rescue Plan Act was passed.
The State Department of Education, students, and the school district will then work together to carry out the winning proposals in each school. Also reserved are five Commissioner Choice awards, which will be given to fulfill five innovative student proposals across the state that are not victorious in their elections.
