Tackling Our Toughest Challenges: The Power of One-on-One Student Interviews

I have always been a proponent of eliciting feedback, ideas, and thoughts from students - and using what I learn from my students to drive the work I do and decisions I make. I have given countless surveys - from “How well did this lesson go?” to “Choose your top three spirit day themes.” I’ve also asked deeper questions, such as, “Do you think it’s important that we discuss identity, race, racism, and systemic oppression during the school day?” and “Have the discussions we’ve had so far been beneficial to you?”

I’ve learned a lot about students’ opinions and how they think through the implementation of these surveys. And they have helped me to tackle some of our toughest challenges at school.

I also speak with students informally and face-to-face, usually at lunch or during passing periods. I ask the students about what they like best about school and what their favorite classes are and why. I learn so much about how students are doing and how they are experiencing school.

This past month, I wanted to take these conversations with students to a new level. Our mid-year data showed, yet again, there is an achievement gap between the academic scores and sense of wellbeing of our Black students and our Latinx and Asian American Pacific Islander students. I wanted to really dive into the questions around why this is happening and what we can do better as a school to meet the needs of our Black students.

Surveys and informal conversations, so far, had not given me the level of information I needed to make a difference in our Black students' level of success and wellbeing in our school system.

So I planned and scheduled one-on-one interviews with some of our Black students. I chose ten students, which represented over 10% of our Black student population. I chose some students who were introverted, some who were extroverted, some in general education, some receiving special education services, some getting good grades, some getting medium grades, and some who were struggling with their grades. I also made sure to interview at least two students from each grade level and have a representation of genders.

At first I just jumped in and started interviewing students. What I learned was that the way I tried to hold these interviews - so informally and without prior notice - made it so the students didn’t really understand why they were being interviewed and also had some trouble coming up with answers to the questions I was asking.

Luckily the first two students I interviewed gave me some great tips on how to create the opportunity for more clarity and a better outcome for these interviews. We came up with a plan where I would send the students I wanted to interview a letter about the main question I was trying to tackle: “How can we better meet the needs of our Black students so there aren’t any gaps in achievement or student wellbeing compared to our Latinx and Asian American Pacific Islander students?”

I also gave them the questions I was going to ask ahead of time so that they had time to think about them.

Such simple shifts in my approach to the interviews and yet so impactful. Of course the ideas about better ways to facilitate these interviews came from the students, which tells us already that when we ask and listen, our students will have the answers.

I sent out the letter about the plans for the interviews and the interview questions to students and their parents/guardians about a month ago. Last week I started the one-on-one interviews.

Wow. Just wow. I am floored by what I have learned from the students so far - and this is after only six one-on-one interviews.

Each interview took between 20-40 minutes. One of the best things I’ve gotten out of the interviews so far has been the chance to better get to know these six students. They shared their stories about school, family, friends, and life.

I got to hear about their hopes and dreams. What things work for them in school and what things don’t. I learned more about what they need in terms of the ways in which they learn best. I learned more about how school could be more welcoming to them and their ideas for celebrating Black culture.

One student shared so deeply and honestly, I shed tears of gratitude at the end of the interview. Here I am, this older white woman, asking a Black young man to tell me his deepest truths about how school is - and isn’t - working for him. I am deeply grateful that he trusted me enough to share his truths.

I learned a lot from him and the other five students. I learned that most of the Black students I interviewed want more opportunities to talk during class. They said it was too easy to disengage from class and zone out. They told me that sometimes the teacher didn’t notice if the student had checked out mentally from the lesson.

Several of the students I interviewed told me that they acted out and sometimes even ditched class to avoid being called on to read or answer questions during class because they are afraid of embarrassing themselves in front of their peers.

Some students shared what they wanted most was more structured activities during lunch.

What was clear from all six interviews is that each student wants to succeed and wants to feel like they belong.

I don’t have all the perfect answers yet about how to provide the most optimal school experience for our Black students, but I sure am a lot closer than I was before I started these interviews.

I am going to keep asking and I am going to keep listening and acting on this input from our Black students because I know they have the answers - and I know that as a school system we can and will do better.