PUTTING RESEARCH INTO PRACTICE

For School Administrators

Beyond the Leadership Title identified patterns in the experiences of student leaders and offers 12 recommendations for strengthening student leadership. This page looks at what those findings and recommendations could mean for principals, superintendents, and other school leaders.

The answers draw on the student and advisor surveys, the leadership programs and resources I reviewed for the report, and my own experience in student leadership. Some questions go beyond what the research directly examined, so I’ve tried to distinguish between what the research found and practical ideas schools might consider.

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Two Questions for Schools

Does every student leader have a foundation of support?
Look across organizations at advisor support, clear responsibilities, planning, task tracking, delegation and accountability, and leadership handoffs.

Are students getting meaningful opportunities to lead?
Look at whether students have opportunities to take responsibility, make decisions, solve problems, reflect, and grow into greater leadership.

Questions & Answers

  • Based on what students and advisors shared in the surveys, I identified six kinds of support that became Recommendations 1 through 6 in the paper: a supportive advisor, clear roles and responsibilities, help planning around full schedules, a shared way for the team to track its work, practice with delegation and peer accountability, and a useful handoff from one group of leaders to the next.

    These recommendations don't have to become a large or formal program. A school may already provide many of them.

  • No. A team captain, newspaper editor, club president, and student representative all have different responsibilities. Schools also have different traditions, students, and resources.

    I'm not recommending that schools standardize every leadership experience. I'm suggesting that they ask whether every student leader has access to a reasonable foundation of support, even if that support looks different across organizations.

  • A title by itself doesn't guarantee a meaningful experience. Students need opportunities to take responsibility, make decisions, solve problems, work with other people, and see the results of their efforts.

    The organizations I reviewed also used practices such as reflection, gradual paths into larger leadership roles, advisor resources, connections with other student leaders, and recognition of the work behind an accomplishment.

  • I'd begin by looking across the leadership opportunities the school already provides. Ask students and advisors what's working, where support is inconsistent, and what students actually get to do in their roles.

    A school could then choose one or two manageable improvements. One organization might begin regular advisor check-ins. Another might clarify officer responsibilities. Another might adopt a shared task tracker, add a short reflection after major projects, or arrange a useful handoff between outgoing and incoming leaders.

    The goal isn't to launch a large new initiative. It's to strengthen the experiences students already have.

  • Many of the supports I identified require more consistency and attention rather than a lot of funding. Clear role descriptions, brief planning conversations, shared task trackers, leadership handoffs, and short reflections can often be created using tools and meeting time that already exist.

    Some broader opportunities, such as conferences or outside leadership programs, may require funding. Schools can decide which opportunities are realistic and whether existing programs, community partners, or student-activity funds can help expand access.

  • Administrators could establish a small number of common expectations while giving organizations flexibility in how they meet them.

    For example, a school might ask whether every leadership group has an advisor, whether incoming leaders receive basic information, whether teams have a way to track responsibilities, and whether useful knowledge is passed to the next group. That creates a foundation without requiring every organization to use the same forms or procedures.

  • A school could ask students and advisors what's changed. It might look at whether responsibilities are clearer, whether fewer tasks are being missed, whether students know where to get help, and whether incoming leaders feel better prepared.

    I also think it's important to look at both the practical results and what students learned. Did the work get done? Did students make meaningful decisions? What did they learn? What would they do differently next time?

  • While I was working on this research, I was also serving as a student representative on my school district's Strategic Planning Committee, where we were developing a new Portrait of a Learner. Leadership was one of the qualities the district hoped every student would develop before graduating.

    That experience is part of what got me thinking about this topic. If a district names leadership as something it wants every student to develop, I think it's worth asking whether students actually have consistent chances to practice it, not just whether leadership titles exist. A title alone doesn't guarantee that a student is developing as a leader.

A Practical Place to Start

Schools don't need to implement all 12 recommendations at once. Start by looking across the leadership opportunities students already have, identify where support or meaningful responsibility may be inconsistent, and choose one or two manageable improvements to try.

Explore all 12 recommendations →

Download the full report →