Building relationships: partnering to support student voice

Workspace Founder/Executive Director Cath Fraise on the partnership between Workspace and One Stone

Two learning environments, on opposite ends of the country. Workspace Education is a co-learning community in Bethel, Connecticut. One Stone is a student-led and student-directed nonprofit that makes students better leaders and the world a better place. 

Cath Fraise, founder and executive director of Workspace, at the Hands Down, Voices Up summit on October 24.

Workspace Education and One Stone share many similarities, such as rethinking what education might look like and putting students in the drivers’ seat, but there’s plenty the two organizations can learn from each other. That opportunity to learn and share is what motivated Workspace Founder and Executive Director Cath Fraise and 10 Workspace learners to travel from Connecticut to join the conversation at Hands Down, Voices Up in Boise from October 23-25.

“I think (our students) need to get out into the world more to see what their generation is doing out there and what the possibilities are,” says Fraise. “So what I’m trying to do for them is show them the possibilities of how great kids their age are and that they can be a part of that. They’re working in solidarity with a whole generation.”

The relationships built between One Stone and Workplace youth are critical, says Fraise, in modeling the kinds of partnerships that can be built with other learners across the country and the globe.

“They’ve seen the result of having this much agency,” she explains. “And even though they can create their own education, they really need to see it in other people to know that it’s possible for them.”

Learn More about Hands Down, Voices Up

Voices Up! A conversation about student voice with Workspace learners

See more photos: A great experience. Hands down.

At Hands Down, Voices Up, student leaders – as well as adults who mentor, coach and support them – gathered to explore the power of student voice and how to put it into practice on a daily basis. From left to right: Jesse Ross of One Stone, Cath Fraise of Workspace, Tom Vander Ark of Getting Smart, and Neva Geisler of One Stone.

Ten Workspace students from Bethel, Connecticut attended the Hands Down, Voices Up summit in Boise from October 23-25. From left to right: Brady K., Isabella A., Kiana S., Ziya S., Jack D. Forrest A., Andralyn A., Nathaniel V., Tristan F., Sophia B.

Workspace students Sophia and Kiana share some ways to inspire good during the first day of the Hands Down, Voices Up summit.

Workspace learner Nathaniel, at the far right, presents possible gun control solutions to fellow students during the Create Good session during the third and final day of the summit.

A breakout group during the Create Good portion of the summit, which focused on suicide prevention, included several Workspace learners in the discussion, including Tristan, Kiana and Ziya.

Kiana shares her insights on ways to prevent suicide with fellow students during a breakout session on the final day of the summit.

Tristan and a group of Workspace learners applaud during a Create Good presentation at the final day of Hands Down, Voices Up.

Workspace learner Sophia visits with One Stone students during a meet-and-greet session. Sophia was one of several students who chose to address the issue of false imprisonment during the final day of Hands Down, Voices Up.