One of my favorite parts of Summer Leadership Camp is how honest students get once they settle in.
It usually doesn’t happen on the first day. The first day is busy. Students are figuring out where to go, who they know, what council they are in, and whether they’re going to like this whole camp thing.
But by the middle of the week, once they have laughed a little, taken a few risks, and realized they are in a place where people actually want to hear from them, the conversations start to change.
This summer, I had a student say something that has stayed with me.
We were talking about what makes students want to get involved at school, and she said, “I think a lot of adults think students don’t care. But sometimes we just don’t know where we fit yet.”
It was a simple sentence, but in the weeks after camp, I haven’t been able to shake it.
August is a busy month in schools. Calendars are being built. First-day plans are taking shape. Staff are preparing classrooms. Student leaders are getting ready to bring energy back into the building. Principals are thinking about the first assembly, the first few weeks, and the tone they want to set for the year.
That early energy matters.
But the student’s comment reminded me how easy it is to move straight into planning before we pause long enough to ask what students are actually walking into this year.
Starting with students doesn’t mean creating a complicated process or handing over every decision. It means taking a little time at the beginning of the year to understand the student experience before we build too many plans around it.
Where do students feel connected?
Where do they feel missed?
What would help more students find their place?
Those questions matter because school culture cannot only be built around the students who already feel connected. It also has to include the student who is new, the student who is quiet, the student who is not involved yet, and the student who may want to participate but doesn’t know where to begin.
First 10 Days Listening Challenge
One simple way principals can start the year with students is through a First 10 Days Listening Challenge.
During the first two weeks of school, ask a small group of students, staff members, or student leaders to help gather answers to three questions:
- Where do students feel most connected at school right now?
- Where do students feel most disconnected or overlooked?
- What is one small thing we could do in the first month to make school feel more welcoming, connected, or student-centered?
This doesn’t need to be a formal survey or a major initiative. It can happen during lunch, advisory, passing time, student council, leadership class, or a few quick conversations in the hallway.
The key is to hear from more than the students who are already involved.
Ask a new student. Ask a student who is not connected to clubs or activities. Ask a student who works after school. Ask a student who shows up every day but rarely speaks up. Ask a student who loves school and a student who is still trying to figure out if school has a place for them.
Principals can also make this easy for staff by asking each adult to identify one or two students they believe the school needs to hear from early in the year. Not as a discipline check-in. Not as a problem to solve. Just as a way to better understand what the start of school feels like from different student perspectives.
The answers may be simple, but they can tell you a lot.
You may learn that new students are confused about where to go during lunch. You may hear that students want to get involved, but don’t know what clubs exist or who to ask. You may find out that school spirit feels like it only reaches the same group of students. Or you may hear that the first few days feel welcoming in some spaces and intimidating in others.
Take One Small Action
Once you hear the answers, choose one small action. The action doesn’t have to be big. It just has to show students that someone listened and did something with what they heard.
Students don’t expect every concern to be fixed by October. But they do pay attention to whether adults take their experience seriously. When students see that their input shaped even one decision, the beginning of the year starts to feel less like a routine and more like an invitation.
When we slow down enough to hear students and act on what they are telling us, we stop guessing what school should feel like and start building it with them.
And for every student walking into the building wondering if they belong, that may be the first sign that this year could be different.